Fight the Good Fight, Finish the Race
by jessicaknows
Summary: The Black Order suspects there are Innocence at Hogwarts. They want to retrieve it, but refuse to get caught in the war. They send a magic wielding exorcist to the school as a teacher. He happens to be Kanda Yuu, and Allen is his apprentice.
1. Chapter 1

_A brief overview:_

_This story is a crossover between Harry Potter and D.Gray man. It contains slash between Kanda and Allen. If you do not like slash, please stop reading. This is somewhat of a hobby and a writing exercise for me. Don't expect it to be good or be updated frequently._

* * *

If it were any other day, Kanda might have considered letting Komui off the hook. But no, not this time. Not for dragging him into his office directly after Kanda had returned from a mission gone wrong, not for forbidding the swordsman to go to the hospital wing first; not for divesting him of his Innocence without prior warning and definitely not for making him wave sticks around. There was no way.

"Try this one next!" Komui said excitedly, shoving yet another stick into Kanda's hand. The tic that had developed under the swordsman's eye might have become permanent. However, he dutifully raised the stick and gave it a swish. Like all the others before it, it was snatched out of his hand and replaced with another.

"Go on!" Komui urged, hopping from one foot to the other with an added spin. Kanda's eye twitched again. He gripped the stick tightly. Pointless, this was just so pointless and frivolous.

"Would you quit with the sticks and tell me what on earth is going on?" He snarled. If he wasn't still injured and unarmed, he would have gladly castrated the older man on the spot. Komui wasn't fazed at all. In fact, he grinned widely and pointed at the stick Kanda was holding.

Kanda's eyes widened. He raised the stick to eye level. It was spitting multi-coloured sparks rather viciously. Well that gave him an idea. With an evil smile, he pointed it at Komui. The scientist backed away nervously.

"Now then Kanda, lets not be hasty." He said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. Kanda took one step forward.

"You have a ten second head start."

Komui took off running. The swordsman smiled in satisfaction. He had no intention of giving chase but Komui didn't know that. It served the bastard right for keeping him in the dark about… whatever the sticks were about. Kanda shrugged to himself and tucked the stick into his shirt as he made his way to the infirmary. Now, it was about time he had that nasty shoulder to hip wound looked at.

* * *

It was only the next day that Komui realized Kanda wasn't coming after him. So it was only the next day that Komui provided an explanation. Hence it was why Kanda and Lavi were sitting in chairs opposite Komui receiving their mission briefing.

"A group of Finders have discovered a building that may possibly contain up to Four Innocence." Komui begun. He paused to take a sip of coffee.

"The building is a school for magic users. The Innocence seems to disrupt the usage of electrical appliances and enables the building to actively repel and or redirect intruders within a large distance. This is inconsistent with the other magical sites like their shopping alley, their hospital and their ministry in which electrical appliances still work just fine. Hence we're dispatching an Exorcist to check it out."

Kanda raised one eyebrow at this. He had heard of magic users, having met them on more than one occasion when traveling with Tiedoll or on missions. But they tended to be far and few in between and usually didn't go around waving their sticks.

"Lavi probably has records of them." Komui glanced at the junior bookman as he said so, receiving a nod as confirmation.

"The sticks I've had you wave are called wands. The Finders managed to nick them from various deceased people. The magic users, or wizards and witches as they prefer to be called, use them to cast spells. Different wands will respond to different people. Even though the selection I have is just an assorted bunch, the strongest reaction by far came from you, Kanda. Congratulations, you have magic."

"What is your point?" Kanda demanded in irritation. "So what if it reacts to me? So what if I have this… magic? Anyone could go there and retrieve the Innocence." He crossed his arms and glared at Komui angrily. He did not like being singled out for things like this

"Under normal circumstances, I would ask that of you. However." Komui tossed a file into Kanda's lap. Kanda opened it, letting pictures of several different massacres spill onto the floor. The swordsman quickly flipped through the file, reading the profiles of several people, taking note of the ones Komui had marked as important, dangerous and annoying.

"They're at war. I don't want you to get involved in this. If you go there guns blazing to retrieve the Innocence which may not even be present, they will find out about the order. They will try to recruit us. And if we do not join, either side might try to wipe us out. Moreover, if you are attacked in any way, you will have an additional method of defense unlike the other Exorcists who only have their innocence. "

"It took the Finders quite a lot of time to gather all this data. Your mission is to pose as their new Defense Teacher and scout out the possible locations of the Innocence. If you find them, attempt to remove them discreetly. Then return to us the moment your contract is terminated. If you encounter Akuma, dispatch of them discreetly." Komui retrieved a box of books from under his desk and plonked it in front of the two young men.

"You have three months to brush up on the ways of the wizarding world. After that, you will apply for the job. Lavi will assist you in memorizing the spellwork."

Kanda looked up from the file and the pile of books then looked at Lavi.

"I'm stuck with this idiot for three months?" He asked in disbelief and growing anger. Komui shrank back at his glare.

"Komui, you have a five second head start." Kanda growled. The head officer didn't look quite convinced and stayed put. Kanda raised an eyebrow and unsheathed his sword. Komui skedaddled.

With a put upon sigh, Kanda turned to the junior bookman who had been oddly silent this time around.

"Come on, Rabbit. I want to get this over with as quickly as possible." Lavi sprung up from his seat with a huge grin.

"Oh Yuu-chan! We'll have soo much fun together!" he declared. Somehow Kanda doubted that a lot.

* * *

Seeing Lavi in lecture mode was a rare occurance. In fact, Kanda had never recalled seeing Lavi in lecture mode. Frankly, it was a little scary. He talked like a teacher, who had taken drugs, and was now high.

"Okay, first. You'll have to memorize all the spells covered in the curriculum you'll teach in a week. Then you'll have to master them in a month. After you master them, you'll move on to cover the other basic spells in other subjects. During that time, I will also teach you about wizarding customs and etiquette. Once you manage to get all of that down, I'll give you a run down on the past hundred years of history. After we're through with all of that, I'll give you a list of people you should watch out for along with their profiles. And if we still have time, I've got a whole lot of advanced spells that you should know about. Now after you've finished that whole shindig, we'll make lesson plans together! Okay got that? Got it? Good. Now let's get started."

With that, Lavi plonked a thick stack of papers in front of Kanda. Kanda stared at it, awed and a little horrified at the same time. He was supposed to learn all that in a week? He picked up the first piece. It was all in foreign languages. He recognized a few Latin and Spanish words. Was that Greek halfway down the page?

"I arranged them alphabetically by difficulty. Yuu-chan should have no problem with the first fifty." Lavi said so cheerfully that Kanda wanted to punch him. He refrained because no matter what, Lavi was his teacher now and he respected his teachers.

"First fifty spells?"

"No. First fifty pages."

Kanda punched him out anyway.

* * *

"You slash downwards and jab like you're drawing an exclamation mark. Then you swish to the left." Lavi corrected Kanda for what seemed like the hundredth time. Kanda dutifully repeated the action even though he didn't really understand the whole point of swish, flick, chant, jab whatever. Could he not just point and chant? It would be faster without the swishing and the slashing. He voiced his question to the junior bookman. It earned him a glare.

"Proper wrist movements augment a spell's power and fine tunes control which you desperately need." Lavi said. If Kanda was a year or two younger, he might have accepted it as law. Unfortunately, he was not.

"How?" Kanda asked, curiosity getting the better of him. The junior bookman frowned as if mentally flipping through a book.

"Page 134 of Greg Frogsmouth's guide to perfect control says that proper wrist movements help create proper pathways to guide the different kinds of magic out of your body. For example, swishing loosens up the pathways in your arm and allows the magic to dissipate outwards in diluted waves and envelop an object. Hence it's used mostly in Charms and Transfiguration.. Slashing tenses up the pathways and allows for short bursts of concentrated magic. This is why it's used predominantly in casting jinxes and hexes." Lavi paused to take a breath. Kanda took the chance to silence him with a barely there _Silencio._ Magic could be quite useful, the Japanese man admitted to himself as he watched the Junior Bookman's mouth open and close comically. He would make sure to practice that spell more often, Lavi was starting to squeak. Come to think of it, he had just learned a spell to make a person dance. Kanda raised his wand, ignoring the near soundless pleas of the hammer wielder.

* * *

For someone new to wand magic, it was admirable that Kanda managed to learn advanced spellwork in addition to the curriculum he was going to teach. Some said it was his dedication to the Black Order that made the swordsman study so hard. Others just shrugged and said it was a way of channeling his anger at being given such a ludicrous task. After all, who could possibly be able to memorize and master all the spells a competent Defense teacher was supposed to have within three months? Why, most teachers had taken years to build up their repertoire and hone their skills but there was Kanda, attempting to cram it all into ninety short days. Yet, somehow he managed to do a barely acceptable job of it. Kanda didn't ever want to look at a spell book again. He also didn't want to see or hear Lavi for at least another ten years however unlikely that was. He had had enough of the redhead's annoying chipper voice quizzing him on the various subjects taught in school. Although, now that Kanda had a new arsenal at his disposal, he could make the rabbit's life a living hell seeing as how the hammer wielder had next to no magical power. Almost a squib, Lavi had said cheerfully, not at all fazed when Kanda demanded to know why Lavi wasn't chosen to go instead. Also, Kanda's usual tight-lipped demeanour somehow made him really good at casting non verbal spells which was a needed skill for Defense Professors, Lavi had added with glee. Kanda, irritated, cursed the redhead's hair green.

Now, having sent his resume complete with forged documents to the Headmaster two days ago, Kanda was mock dueling with Lavi to get rid of his nerves. If it could be called a mock duel because all Lavi could do was to dodge anyway. Lavi was adamant that Dumbledore would just ask Kanda a few questions and be done with it if he really did land the interview. Kanda was not convinced. Hence he was training like he was going to be sitting for a really tough exam.

Without really noticing, Kanda had sped up his spell casting. Lavi barely managed to dance out of the way of a cutting curse.

"Yuu-chan! I think that's enough! Your casting is becoming erratic." Lavi's cry broke Kanda's concentration. He lowered the wand immediately and nodded brusquely at his companion. Without a word, Kanda turned on his heel and headed straight for the mess hall. The mission hadn't started and already he hated it with a passion. On his way there however, he was met with Krory who had a disgruntled looking owl on his arm.

"Komui told me to bring this owl to you." He said, hurriedly shoving the owl at Kanda. Too surprised to do anything, Kanda just accepted the owl, allowing it to perch on his arm. Krory hurried off, not wanting to be saddled with the irritated bird any longer. The owl hooted at Kanda, sticking out its leg. Hesitantly, Kanda removed the letter tied there. What would happen if he was rejected? Would Komui make him infiltrate the school? What if they insisted on testing his skills in a duel? Would he be able to overcome them with his three months worth of experience? Or worse still, would they know somehow, straightaway that he was a fake and this letter was charmed to eradicate him immediately. Okay, this was getting ridiculous, Kanda berated himself. He was letting his imagination run away with him. Steeling himself, he ripped open the envelope, pulled out the letter and proceeded to read it.

_Dear Mr. Kanda Yuu,_

_We are glad to inform you that your application for the position of the Professor of Defence Against The Dark Arts has been approved. This letter is a portkey that will transport you to the school gate tomorrow at 8 o'clock sharp. A teacher will be present to escort you inside._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Kanda's eye twitched once, and then twice. That was it? No interview? No test of his skills? He was beginning to see how intruders got in so easily. The headmaster must be becoming senile. He had put himself through hell for nothing. On the positive side, he didn't need to worry about them finding out that he was barely competent at spell casting. Oh well, every cloud had a silver lining. With a sigh, he slipped the letter into his pocket and continued on his way, the owl flying close behind.

* * *

For once in his life, Kanda was nervous. Lenalee and Komui were standing together with him, presumably to see him off but nothing was said between them. Personally, Kanda thought there was nothing to be seen off. Portkeys made people disappear on the spot. There was nothing to say besides "Good luck" "Good bye" and "Be Careful" anyway. Lenalee waved him off saying it was customary and polite to do so. Shifting his suitcase from one hand to the other, Kanda regretted having banished Lavi from his sight so early because he really needed someone to insult and demean. Unfortunately for him, the beansprout was on a mission so he couldn't insult him either. Speaking of the brat, he looked pretty beat up the last time Kanda saw him, which was six? Seven months ago? He wondered how the boy was doing. 17 and already a general, it was unbelievable. Surprisingly, a wave of contentment swept through the twenty year old. When Allen first joined the order, Kanda thought that he would be stuck taking care of the brat every single time they had a mission together. He was proved pleasantly wrong when Allen showed his ability to fight, and willingness to improve himself. The boy had grown stronger and stronger, giving Kanda a run for his money each time they mock battled. Kanda gripped the letter tightly in his hand and adjusted Mugen by his side as he watched the clock on the wall slowly tick towards eight.

Five. Enough of the brat! He didn't want to think about the naïve teen!

Four. Stupid Allen and Lavi, always kidding around even on missions.

Three. It was horrendous how much food Allen could eat.

Two. His arm wasn't that repulsive. It had a sort of macabre appeal.

One. Wonder what he was doing now.

Kanda felt a tugging sensation behind his navel and was gone.

* * *

The staff of Hogwarts was not pleased with their headmaster. No, not at all. You would think that after letting not one, but two incompetent Defense teachers and one imposter into the school, anyone would be more cautious in choosing the next one. Hold an interview maybe, hold a test hopefully. Unfortunately, all Albus did was to smile as he approved the application of a person he had never even met.

"His senilty knows no bounds." Professor Snape snarled, upset at being rejected once again. Professor McGonagall sniffed in disapproval, both at Professor Snape's comment and at Dumbledore's actions.

"I wish I could disagree with you." She said primly, hands folded at her waist neatly as they awaited the arrival of the newest professor. "But I can't. So I won't." She added.

"He's twenty. Twenty!" The potions master sounded so aggrieved that McGonagall had to bite her lip to hold in a chuckle.

"Hush now, he should be arriving right about-" a dark haired boy appeared before them. He dropped into a defensive stance immediately with his hand resting on the sword by his side. The suitcase fell to the ground with a loud thunk.

"Are you the professors the Headmaster sent to escort me?" He asked guardedly. Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall looked at one another then at the new arrival. He didn't even look 18, much less 20! Was this person really going to lead the children in Defense against the Dark Arts? The close age gap might cause the students to disrespect him and challenge his authority! Nevertheless, Professor McGonagall stepped forward.

"Yes, I am Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration mistress and this is Professor Snape, the potions master." She said politely. The young man narrowed his eyes as if remembering something. He straightened hesitantly, picked up his suitcase then adjusted the sword by his side and bowed.

"I am Yuu Kanda, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said in a very polite manner. "Please forgive my earlier actions, I do not frequently travel by portkey."

Despite his young appearance and rather clipped manners, McGonagall found himself liking the young man. He seemed to be a no-nonsense and disciplined person, a suitable teacher or so she hoped. She gave her colleague a small smile as if to say not all hope was lost. Snape just pursed his lips to say we'll see.

"Well, Mr. Kanda, please come this way."

* * *

Kanda knew that portkeys could be disorienting. Lavi had told him so. But he didn't expect the whole world to somersault and switch colours in front of him. Thanks to his training and his natural instincts, he managed to stay upright and even assume a defensive position as he reappeared in front of the gates.

There were two people there: a man and a woman. Both were dressed in black robes and pointy black hats. Albus Dumbledore mentioned one escort, why would there be two? Kanda thought suspiciously, fingers twitching on his sword. Then he reminded himself that the old man had probably just forgotten. It was the same man that approved his application right off the bat anyway. But just in case, he asked anyway.

"Are you the professors the Headmaster sent to escort me?" The question sounded rude even to his own ears but it was better rude than sorry. The two adults replied in the affirmative. McGonagall and Snape. Kanda narrowed his eyes, mentally running through the list of important people he had been given. Lavi had told him to be wary of the professors because they were perceptive. But they meant no harm. They seemed to be unarmed so he straightened. Picking up his suitcase, he bowed and introduced himself.

"I am Yuu Kanda, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please forgive my earlier actions, I do not frequently travel by portkey." He felt a little uncomfortable at their subtle evaluation of him. He could tell by the small smile on McGonagall's face that she was giving him a chance. The sneer on Snape's face showed that the potions master still had his misgivings. Good, it was better this way. Their mistrust of him would keep him alert and on his toes.

"Well, Mr. Kanda, please come this way." The woman spun on her heel and led the way towards to the enormous castle in the distance. Kanda followed close behind, keeping his guard up.

It wasn't before long that Kanda stood in the great hall. He gazed up at the ceiling, wondering if it would emulate aerial attacks like it did the sky. Today was disgustingly sunny. It would probably agree with people like Lavi, Allen, Lenalee and all the others. Not him though, he preferred cloudy days. Sunny was too cheerful for him. Cloudy skies reflected life. Life was like a sky of clouds. It might rain on you any time but then sometimes, the sun would shine through the clouds. He waited patiently as Professor McGonagall introduced him to the staff members who were still having breakfast, nodding his head politely at each of them. Professor Snape excused himself hastily, muttering about timing his potions. Meanwhile, Kanda exchanged s few polite words with Professor Sprout, Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick before McGonagall led him to the Headmaster's office. The swordsman was quite intrigued by the moving paintings and armour he saw on the way but didn't say a thing. It wouldn't do to seem as if he was completely new to the Wizarding world. For all he knew, they could be common occurrences. He made a mental note to ask Lavi about it later.

"Iced Mice" Kanda was brought out of his musings as Professor McGonagall told the gargoyles a password of sorts. They leaped out of the way, allowing Kanda and his companion to ascend the stairs.

Kami, the shade of orange! Was Kanda's first thought when he stepped into the Headmaster's office along with Professor McGonagall. The headmaster was wearing a set of bright orange robes with neon green toadstools on them. The swordsman had to blink several times to get used to it whereas Professor McGonagall didn't seem the least bit fazed.

"Kanda Yuu I presume!" The old man said cheerfully. Kanda bowed stiffly by way of affirmation.

"Lemon drop?" Kanda declined the old man's offer as politely as he could, looking around the room curiously. Many a device spun, whistled and gyrated on the shelves. The phoenix in the corner trilled softly and bobbed its head up and down at him as if approving of him. Kanda bowed respectfully to it. He had only heard of phoenixes in stories. There were many legends about their healing abilities and their status as a symbol of prosperity.

"I see Fawkes seems to like you quite a little." Albus commented. "But where are my manners! My name is Albus Dumbledore and I welcome you to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" The aged wizard stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of Kanda.

The swordsman had the feeling that something was inherently wrong, a deep unsettling feeling that his person was under attack. He glanced around the room quickly, eyeing the various devices. Kanda was surprised to note that the feeling disappeared the moment he looked away from the Headmaster's eyes. Professor McGonagall seemed to be giving the Headmaster a disapproving look but refrained on commenting. The headmaster must have been using some kind of eye-contact based magic on him, Kanda concluded. It was probably rude or illegal judging by the annoyed look the Professor McGonagall had given the old man. Or it could be just a coincidence. Either way, Kanda would not look him in the eye again.

"It is an honor to be able to teach at your school, Headmaster Dumbledore" Kanda said as he raised his head, deliberately staring at a spot on the right of the headmaster's head. Most people found it disconcerting. Kanda was pleased to note that the headmaster shifted slightly, looking just a little uncomfortable before smiling again.

"Professor McGonagall will show you to your rooms. Term starts in a week on September the first, so I trust you'll have time to get better acquainted with the other professors." Dumbledore said cheerfully. Kanda maintained his stare and nodded shortly.

"Thank you, headmaster Dumbledore." He said and turned to follow Professor McGonagall out of the room.

The silence between the two colleagues was tense.

"The headmaster, he tried to so something to me didn't he?" Kanda asked bluntly. The older witch faltered in her steps.

"I apologize on his behalf. He was merely testing your loyalties." She replied in a disapproving tone. "I've told him there are better ways to do that but he never listens."

Kanda frowned. It was good that at least, at least there they were wary of him, the old man so much more. If he did that to everyone who came in through the doors, there would be nothing to be afraid of. Yet somehow, Kanda had the feeling that the headmaster did not. They came to a stop in front of a painting of a lady in a kimono.

"This is Kiyoko. She shall guard your door. The password is Fizzing Whizbees but you can change it anytime you want by informing Kiyoko." Professor McGonagall said, gesturing at the painting. Kanda bowed to the lady.

"I'll leave you to unpack, Professor Kanda." The witch informed Kanda. Turning on her heel, she was about to leave when Kanda called her.

"Professor McGonagall."

The older witch paused in her footsteps. Kanda struggled to find the words.

"Tell him I do not blame him for it. But I would appreciate it, if he did not do it again." He said.

Without looking back, the tartan clad woman nodded briskly and went on her way. Kanda turned and gazed at the painting. Kiyoko-san was gazing at him curiously with a gentle smile on her face.

"Pleasure to meet you Kiyoko-san." Kanda said to the painting. The lady smiled at his polite tone. "From now on, I would like the password to be…" Kanda paused in thought. No one here knew him. The chance of them guessing his password would be quite unlikely. Even so, he chose something that would be totally out of character for him.

"Beansprout." He decided. Kiyoko smiled and swung open. Kanda stepped in, feeling just a little relieved that he succeeded at least the first part of his mission: Getting in undetected. With a small sense of accomplishment, Kanda headed over to the bed. Placing his suitcase on the bed, he began to put away his thing. His clothes were placed neatly into the dresser within a few minutes. His golem flew around erratically for a few minutes, seeming to be a little disoriented and annoyed by being cooped up for so long in the suitcase. Kanda hesitated but then removed the glass encased lotus from his suitcase and placed in on the dressing table. He had originally wanted to leave it at headquarters, but Komui convinced him to bring it along. Just in case you don't know you're over doing it, the scientist had said. With what little he had brought all put away neatly, Kanda sat down cross legged on the bed to meditate.

* * *

Down in the great hall, a heated discussion was taking place amongst the professors.

"Twenty? Isn't that a little young?" Professor Sprout asked in concern. She was worried that Kanda would not be able to handle a class full of rowdy students.

"Hah! He looks as if he's barely 16!" Madam Hooch declared. The young man was for a lack of better word: beautiful and unmarked.

"Age does not determine skill." Flitwick said thoughtfully. It was possible that the boy was quite skilled at Defense even though he was young. He might have a natural talent at it.

"He…" Professor McGonagall paused. It was unusual that someone as young as him could detect Albus's subtle probing. He knew he was being probed and was able to look away, and yet he didn't seem to know what it was.

"I think he's not who he says he is." She decided, torn between liking the stand-offish young man and being suspicious of him. Her three colleagues turned to her.

"What makes you say that?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"Most people have trouble detecting Albus's Legilimency probes. Professor Kanda not only realized it but also managed to look away. In addition, he scanned the room warily as if expecting a corporeal attack. Somehow, he also managed to discourage the headmaster from trying that trick again." Here, the Irish professor paused. "But then as I was showing him to his room, he asked me if the headmaster tried something on him. It's as if he has never heard of Legilimency or Occlumency."

"He sounds more like a battle hardened muggle." Professor Flitwick commented, furrowing his brow. "This is odd, because the Wizarding World of Japan is quite peaceful nowadays. Why would he need to be on constant guard?"

"It's probably because he has trained in martial arts. Didn't you see his sword? Some forms of martial arts require disciples to be constantly alert." Madam Hooch waved her hand at the two older professors to dismiss their ideas. They looked at one another uneasily. It was obvious that none of them really and truly believed that. However, since Kanda seemed to be no more than an average and well manner young man, they would accept it for now.

* * *

In his office, Albus Dumbledore steepled his fingers, lost in thought. To be truthful, he had only accepted Kanda as a Defense professor because he knew that the Ministry had already planned to appoint one of their own in that position, namely one Dolores Umbridge. Albus had wanted to minimize their interference and so appointed the first qualified person who applied to teach Defense. He was beginning to rethink his decision. From what little he had managed to glean from the subtle probing, Kanda was nothing more than an average wizard, struggling to cast spells with a wand that seemed unsuited for him. He was not on Voldemort's side that much was obvious, but he did not wish for the light either. In fact, Kanda Yuu seemed wholly set on staying out of the war aside from doing his job.

His job. That was the disturbing part. Kanda didn't view his job as in equipping the students with knowledge to defend themselves. Albus had caught flashes of hastily cast spells, hours of research and study in the library. Kanda wanted to find something. He wanted to find it for someone else. That something was within Hogwarts but Albus was unable to find out what before Kanda had looked away.

The old wizard sighed. When Kanda had looked back at him, Albus had felt just a little uncomfortable. It had been such a long time since Albus had met someone who could do that stare. By gazing steadily at the spot just by someone's head, it gave people the impression that you were looking right through them at something behind them. Most people could not perform it because their eyes would start to wander to more corporeal items after a few seconds. People when subjected to it would feel uncomfortable and would want to look away or behind themselves. Usually, they would succumb to that feeling because they were not used to it. The headmaster had only been caught off guard, not expecting such a young man to do that to him.

Kanda Yuu was definitely working for someone, otherwise why would a barely competent wizard like him apply for the Defense position? Albus gazed over at Fawkes. The firebird trilled softly at him as if to reassure him that it would be alright. Well, Fawkes seemed to have taken a liking to the young man. It seemed as though that even though Kanda's loyalties lay with a third party, he was not a threat.

At least, not now.

* * *

"ACHOO!" Kanda sneezed for the seventh time in a row. He rubbed his nose and sniffed, feeling quite put out at having sneezed so many times when he wasn't sick. Hell, he didn't sneeze even if he was sick.

"God bless me." He said self consciously. "And Lord, please curse the idiots who're gossiping and or talking about me." He added vindictively.

Somehow, Albus couldn't find his lemon drops for the rest of the day. Madam Hooch fell off her broom. Several plants in Professor Sprout's greenhouse died suddenly. Flitwick tripped three times and Professor McGonagall's bun wouldn't stay up no matter how many pins she put in it.

* * *

_Kanda is twenty but he looks younger. It's not uncommon. I myself am 18 but look like 13/14. My brother is 20 but people think he's younger than me. Go figure._


	2. Chapter 2

_2_

_2_

_I would like to thank the people who reviewed from the bottom of my heart. I didn't expect so many faves and reviews for the first chapter alone. I hope you will keep me grounded throughout my writing and alert me when it gets too Sue-ish. I will refrain from explaining anything in my Author's note as I believe that a story should let others draw their own conclusions._

_Did I mention that both D.Grayman and Harry Potter don't belong to me? I'm just mucking around with the characters_

* * *

The Castle was huge, Kanda decided as he plodded down the hallway softly in his boots. So far he had walked through about a quarter of it. It was at least twice the size of Headquarters. It didn't matter to him of course but he had no doubt that if it were Allen, the boy would be lost before you could even say "Where am I?" Lavi would be too busy chatting up the portraits for information to explore properly and Lenalee… it didn't matter to her now did it? She could fly anywhere she wanted with her dark boots.

The swordsman regretted not eating more at breakfast. He was one of the first two persons at the table alongside by the black clad Potions Master. It had started out fine and dandy, the both of them eating silently, lost in their own thoughts. The other professors had joined them soon after, some chatting about their lessons and some discussing more personal matters. Kanda listened as he ate, picking up little tidbits of information here and there. Apparently someone else had applied for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position but had been rejected. Kanda heard Madam Hooch remark in low tones that it was a shame but it had to be done. The other person must have been a very good teacher. Kanda made a mental note to find out whom.

He was planning on going exploring, taking a brisk walk around the castle to map out all the possible locations of the Innocence, so he didn't have a heavy breakfast. However he didn't think he would have to dodge trick steps and poltergeists. Thankfully he had a sword and a wand to defend himself. Unfortunately, he was now quite hungry.

The swordsman paused, sensing a presence behind him.

"What have we here?" A sickeningly sweet voice asked. Kanda turned around and bowed shortly, keeping his face carefully blank as he faced the toad like woman in front of him. She was wearing bright pink robes that seemed familiar to him but somehow, he couldn't rightly remember where he had seen them before.

"Who are you and what are you doing in Hogwarts?" She asked in that same sickly sweet voice. Kanda felt a little nauseous. He didn't recognize this person at all. She wasn't mentioned in the files. He was sure he would have remembered her face if she was in there somewhere. Yet it would not do to antagonize her, just in case she was important or was useful.

"I am Kanda Yuu. I shall be instructing the students in Defence Against the Dark Arts in the following year." Kanda said carefully, watching the squat woman's face for changes in her expression. Her lip curled in distaste.

"Surely you do not think that is necessary?" She simpered in what seemed like a forced manner. Kanda paused to think of his reply, taking the time to scrutinize the overly pink get up that she wore. Why pink? It wasn't even pastel pink, it was bright pink. _Bright pink_.

"I do not know. I am from Japan." He replied in short sentences, trying to give her only the bare minimum of what she needed to know. Kanda watched her brow furrow slightly in anger. Could she possibly be the person that had been rejected for the position? She did not seem like a fighter in any sense but Kanda had learned not to judge people by appearance.

"But I am open to suggestions." Kanda inclined his head slightly, deciding that it was best if he did not alienate a possible ally, however disgusting they might be. The woman smiled widely as if she believed she could convince Kanda to do as she said. Here, the swordsman wondered briefly if the Earl would get along with this lady. They would make quite a pair with their wide grins and sickeningly sweet manners.

"I don't believe I caught your name." He said politely, shaking himself out of the previous train of thought.

"Dolores Umbridge, High Inquisitor. Pleasure to meet you." She simpered, all traces of malice gone.

"Well, Madam Umbridge would you accompany me to the great hall for lunch?" Kanda said with a tight smile, reminding himself that he had seen more disgusting things like Akuma ripping themselves out of someone's spine or the innards of a disemboweled finder. Umbridge tittered and took the arm he offered. Feeling quite repulsed, Kanda could only hope that he was doing the right thing.

* * *

It came as both a surprise and horror to the other professors when they saw the newly inducted Defence instructor sitting beside Dolores Umbridge exchanging what seemed to be lesson plans.

They refrained from commenting on it of course. Since Kanda had on the same blank expression as yesterday and didn't seem agitated as he debated with the High Inquisitor.

Kanda had absolutely no intention of changing his lesson plans to suit the woman that sat beside him. But he also had no intention of telling her that either. He wasn't someone who was good at manipulating other people to do his will, nor was he someone who compromised easily. As of now, he was letting the woman rant on about how it was unnecessary for students to be allowed to practice the spells. She was adamant that the Dark Lord Voldemort was still dead and Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived was just lying about it to get attention. It didn't matter to him either way. Kanda couldn't care less if some dead and resurrected fellow wanted to kill a young boy. Well, he would if it was one of his colleagues but it wasn't. So he didn't.

The only thing that he had told her so far was that he would be covering theory first. Which was very true. Lavi had specified exactly in the lessons plans how to teach and what to teach. The bookman had even recorded the correct pronunciations of everything in the Golem. Kanda who had no experience with teaching, had no intention of deviating from the plans. She seemed extremely happy to hear that.

A dark shadow loomed over him. Snape stood there, a displeased scowl on his face.

"The headmaster wishes for me to accompany you to Diagon Alley to acquire some proper attire." He said as if he had swallowed something bitter. Kanda looked down at his plain white shirt and black pants.

"I wasn't aware that mine aren't acceptable." The swordsman said blandly.

"Teachers are also required to wear robes." The Potions Master supplied. Kanda nodded his head slowly. It made sense that students would be more willing to wear a uniform if the Professors had one too. He turned to Umbridge.

"I shall take your suggestions into consideration." Kanda said carefully, setting down his chopsticks and dabbing his mouth with his napkin.

"I thank you for your company but I must now leave." Truth be told, Kanda was glad to leave. He would rather spend time with the dour potions professor than with the simpering High Inquisitor. The potions professor reminded him of himself, a loner with no attachments to the world. Dolores Umbridge was like… a retarded version of akuma.

The swordsman stood gracefully and went to get his coat, oblivious to the stares he was getting.

* * *

Severus Snape did not appreciate being passed over for someone younger and with less experience than him. Quirrel had been a passable professor until he was possessed. Gilderoy had many books boasting of his achievements. Lupin was admittedly quite competent and Moody was an auror. He could see how they were chosen over him. But twenty-year old Kanda Yuu? Resentment did not even begin to describe what Severus felt towards him.

"I am ready." Severus scowled at the young man. The younger male was still wearing his white shirt and black pants. Only now he had exchanged his shoes for black boots and had an expensive looking coat draped over his left arm. His sword still dangled by his side.

"Is that ornament necessary?" Severus couldn't resist a jibe at the younger man. He did not believe that the boy knew how to use it. What use did he have for it anyway? Slicing veggies in the kitchen? Although it was pureblood tradition to learn the art of sword fighting and fencing, it was not necessary anymore and it had lost its mark of prestige ages ago. Nowadays, most people who still trained in the old ways were viewed as pretentious rich bastards. Which, Severus noted, Kanda was not. The Japanese young man raised an eyebrow, not rising to the occasion like Severus thought he might.

"In the future, please do not refer to my weapon as an ornament." He said calmly. "You may call it Mugen." The young man added as he strode past Severus to the great oak doors that led to the outside. Severus could not stop his eye from twitching. He had actually named the thing? How… infantile! The Potions master followed his colleague, matching his long strides.

"Where is this Diagonally?" Kanda asked as they reached the gate.

"You will see. Do you know how to apparate?" Severus sneered. The swordsman shook his head.

"Then I shall apparate the both of us." The Potions Master grabbed Kanda's arm and the two of them disappeared with a crack.

They appeared in dank and dusty pub. Severus was half hoping that his colleague would be disoriented but was sorely disappointed when all the younger male did was to partially unsheathe his sword. Snape narrowed his eyes at this. Wizards would usually go for their wand first. Only someone who was used to being alert and using their sword all the time would go for their weapon.

"Do not do that again!" Kanda hissed, sheathing his sword and glaring at the staring customers. Severus bit back a smirk at knowing that he had rattled the younger male.

"Apologies." Severus drawled in a tone that clearly suggested that he was not sorry at all. Kanda gave him a hooded look but gestured for Severus to lead the way. The Potions master felt a little apprehensive at exposing his back to his companion but did so anyway. The soft thudding of Kanda's boots behind him was a little unnerving.

Severus forced himself to calm. Raising his wand, he tapped the bricks in quick succession, causing the doorway to open. The potions master observed Kanda from the corner of his eyes. For a person who was supposedly entering Diagon Alley for the first time, Kanda didn't even blink. Severus was beginning to think that the young man knew all about London.

Biting down on his suspicions and his urge to curse Kanda with a truth spell then interrogate him, Severus led the way to Madame Malkins. The twenty year old trailed behind him, his hand twitching to his sword every few seconds. Severus scowled darkly. What did the brat have to worry about anyway? The potions master brooded. He was a spy and he was much less jumpy than the young man behind him.

Severus stopped abruptly in front of the store and gestured for Kanda to step inside. The swordsman complied a little shakily.

"He is here to purchase teachers robes." Severus announced. Madame Malkin gave him a strange look.

"This boy? He can't be older than 18!" She exclaimed. Still she ushered the boy onto one of the stools and started taking his measurements. Kanda looked quite unsettled as Madame Malkin started pinning the cloth to fit him and demanded he removed his sword. He left it within sight and easy reach, eyes constantly darting around to search his surroundings.

"Any colour preference?" Madame Malkins asked politely. Kanda snatched up his sword as soon as she stepped away from him and allowed him to step down.

"Black or dark colours would suffice." The Japanese young man replied stiffly. "Is there any way you can make my clothing more suited for battle?" The second phrase was whispered to Madame Malkins, but not softly enough. Snape raised an eyebrow at his inquiry. Madame Malkins was a little more discreet, handing Kanda a checklist of possible modifications.

The swordsman hesitated but took about two minutes to look over and check the modifications he wanted then handed the list back to Madame Malkins. From the way the quill had moved across the paper, Severus concluded that Kanda had made several basic modifications.

"They will be ready in a day or so." Madame Malkins said. "Would you like to collect them personally, or should we send them to you by owl post?"

"Owl post." Severus interjected before Kanda could reply. He ushered the man out of the store and towards the Apothecary. He did need to acquire more supplies.

* * *

"Komui?" Allen's inquiry was met with silence. The office was littered with all sorts of paper as usual. The young General picked his way through the mess gingerly, grimacing at the pile of sticks covering the desk. How on earth did the scientist get anything done like this? More importantly, where was Komui? Allen wanted to hand in his mission report and go get some dinner. He was hungry damn it!

The white haired General sighed. Balancing his report on his head, he started to gather the sticks into little bundles then wrapped them in bits of used paper. Allen was horribly startled when he lifted a stick only to have it emit a sound like a foghorn. He dropped it hastily and backpedalled, the thick report falling off his head and landing on the floor with a splat.

Allen approached the stick and the surrounding sticks cautiously. He picked it up and was deafened by a shriek. The boy drew back his hand and was prepared to hurl it out the window only to have his hand grabbed by a bleary eyed Komui who had been sleeping under a stack of papers nearby.

"Allen, congratulations. You have magic." He said with a tired smile.

Allen gave him a funny look, the boy carefully dislodged the scientists hand and sat the older man down in his chair then went to the window all the while holding the stick out in front of him.

"There's no such thing as magic." He declared then promptly flung the stick out as far as he could. Allen wondered why Komui scrambled to his feet wide awake then rushed out the door. It was just a silly stick.

* * *

"So… you're saying that you sent Kanda on a mission." Allen said slowly, not really comprehending what Komui wanted him to do.

"Yes, yes, yes. He's at a Magical School called Hogwarts teaching students how to defend themselves." Komui said impatiently "So far you're the only two who have shown signs of magic so I'm going to dispatch you to accompany him for the rest of the year." the head officer said and sipped his coffee.

"But I don't know _any_ magic!" Allen protested. His day was rapidly going down the drain. He just got back from a successful mission and was looking forward to relaxing or goofing off with Lavi when he was suddenly saddled with another crazy mission. Komui and Lavi gave him hooded stares. Okay so maybe that was a lie. The card tricks that he pulled weren't all just sleight of hand or luck.

"You'll be posing as his apprentice. Kanda shall instruct you on everything you need to know and then some." Komui waved his hand dismissively. Allen gaped. In exorcist terms, he ranked higher that Kanda since he had already become a General. Now he was reduced to a mere apprentice again? He had just started to enjoy the freedom that came with General-dom!

"But…He hates me…. He'll hate me more now!" Allen said weakly. He received an annoyed glare from Komui.

"You two have worked your way around that in the past and I expect you to do the same now that there may be four Innocence at stake!" Komui declared, giving Allen an accusatory stare as he held up four gloved fingers. Allen sighed, he knew a losing battle when he was in one. It was pointless to argue with Komui right now. Besides, he was right. It was for the Innocence. For the Innocence. No, nothing to do with Kanda. Just the Innocence.

"So… when am I going over?" He asked resignedly.

"After I inform Kanda that his apprentice has completed his test and is on his way to join him." Komui replied, calling the golem to his side.

* * *

Kanda felt comfortable in his shirt, pants and shoes. He did not want to wear robes. The flowing material might encumber him in a fight. A small voice reminded him that the exorcist coat was quite long and fiddly at times. Kanda retorted that it was meant for battle and quite sturdy. But on the other hand, magic can be used to enforce your clothing or so he read from one of the many books Lavi had. Kanda acquiesced to himself. He would wear robes, reluctantly, he would wear them.

As he plodded along in his comfortable boots, he got the feeling that the potions master who was currently leading him to the front gates did not like him very much. Kanda didn't know why and frankly he didn't really care as long as the potions master did not attempt to hurt him. Being socially accepted was overrated anyway.

Warnings, however were not. Kanda was horribly surprised when Severus grabbed his arm and apparated them both into a pub. He was halfway to activating his innocence and slicing the first thing that came up to him before he realized there was no threat.

"Do not do that again!" He hissed at his companion. Severus apologized but his heart wasn't in it. Kanda sheathed his sword, pointedly staring down the people who looked his way. He hated surprises. Especially if they could cause him injury. What if he had done something wrong during the apparation? Kanda or Severus could have been splinched. Worse still, they could have met up with Akuma. Or even be splinched _and_ meet up with Akuma. A morbidly amusing thought entered Kanda's mind as he imagined himself trying to fight off Akuma with half a leg and no arms. It would be a quick battle in the Akuma's favour of course.

Following that line of thought, the swordsman realized that it was completely possible that Severus might even do that on purpose solely to get rid of him. Shaking off his paranoia as the result of one too many battles, he gestured for the older man to lead the way as he mentally did a quick run through about what the Finders wrote about Diagon Alley. There was a brick door that opened when tapped with a wand if he remembered correctly so he didn't blink in surprise when Severus tapped the wall and it opened to show a busy street. He regretted keeping his face impassive though, when the potions master gave him a very odd look.

The swordsman felt a twinge of unease as he gazed at the crowds. Unlike his previous missions where he knew for sure that there were akuma lurking around and could dispatch of them easily, here he was not allowed to activate his Innocence unless in dire circumstances. Explaining his actions would blow his mission cover which Komui had told him not to do.

Damn it all to hell, Kanda couldn't help twitching towards his sword despite the fact that he knew he was supposed to be twitching towards his wand. He was nervous around this huge crowd where people kept bumping into him or brushing past him. He couldn't tell if they were staring because he looked foreign, because he carried a sword or because they might be Akuma who were waiting to attack. He could feel eyes on him where ever he went and it was making him extremely paranoid

Thankfully, they reached the Robe Shop before the swordsman drew his sword. Kanda was still jumpy. The owner, one Madame Malkins, tutted over how young he was but fitted him for proper clothing anyway. She insisted that he put down his sword so she could pin the cloth properly. Kanda did so with great reluctance, propping Mugen against the wall where he could reach it within a second.

"Any colour preference?" The tailor asked politely. Kanda picked up his sword quickly the turned to look at Madame Malkins.

"Black or dark colours would suffice." He sounded stiff even to his own ears. "Is there any way you can make my clothing more suited for battle?" He asked in a lower tone. Madame Malkins nodded and handed him a checklist. Kanda blinked, reading through the list. It held all the modifications that could be done on his robes along with the prices. He carefully checked 'Fireproof' and 'Basic Hex Repellant'. Some of the things were a little over the top though. 'Water proof' was checked immediately. Kanda didn't like fighting in wet clothes. 'Blood-proof' because blood-stains were hard to clean. The swordsman hesitated. He could probably afford half the things on the list but wasn't really sure if he should. He probably seemed like a overly paranoid insane young man right now. Kanda decided against it but wrote down a note for Madame Malkins to enforce the cloth before handing it back.

"They will be ready in a day or so." Madame Malkins said. "Would you like to collect them personally, or should we send them to you by owl post?" Kanda wondered how on earth could a bird carry so much clothing.

"Owl post." Severus interjected before Kanda could protest against the poor treatment of the birds. The potions master ushered him out of the door and towards the Apothecary quickly, muttering about ingredients.

The Apothecary smelt funny, Kanda thought as he watched the Potions master haggle over something that looked like legs. The golem in his pocket vibrated strongly, indicating an incoming message. Kanda froze. There was no way he could answer it here. Wizards and Witches did not use Golems and he wasn't sure he could pass it off as a Japanese thing. He needed to get back to Hogwarts.

"Excuse me, what's the fastest way to get back to Hogwarts?" He asked politely, unable to keep the tension from leaking into his voice. The shopkeeper pointed to the fireplace and gave him a nasty look. Severus also turned to glare at the swordsman.

"There's floo powder in the flower pot. Throw a pinch of it into the fireplace and state your destination." The shopkeeper said gruffly. Kanda looked to Severus for help

"It's Hogwarts Great Hall." The Potions Master sneered. Kanda inclined his head in thanks. He took a pinch of the grey powder and tossed it into the flames. The flames roared and turned into a brilliant green. Kanda hesitated but stepped in, feeling the warmth of the flames. Then he said clearly

"Hogwarts Great Hall!" immediately he was thrown into a swirl of colours. Kanda's eyes widened in panic and his hand went to his sword immediately. Disorienting, one of the books had described it. 'Disorienting, my foot.' Kanda thought, this wasn't disorienting, this was full blown panic inducing. Terrified as grates and fireplaces swirled around him, he tried to stay completely still only to tumble out of the fireplace in the Great hall, banging his elbow on the grate as he rolled into a crouch gracefully, Mugen half unsheathed. No one was there to see his disgraceful entry. For that Kanda was infinitely thankful. He would have never lived it down if someone had seen his less than stellar entrance. The swordsman stood and ran to his rooms.

In his rooms, Kanda squashed the golem in his pocket, spelling his door shut, casting a no eavesdropping spell on the room. In his haste to charm the windows and curtains close, he mispronounced the spell several times, getting more and more frustrated. He finally managed to spell them shut before letting the dark winged golem out.

"Kanda! Kanda pick up!" Komui's voice came through, sounding very irritated.

"What is it?!" Kanda was very, very annoyed. He glared at the golem, wishing fiery death on Komui and whatever possessed him to contact the swordsman at this time. Thank goodness, Kanda had the foresight to hide the golem deep in his pockets and not allow it to fly around like he usually did. Otherwise, his cover might have been blown thrice over now.

"Allen, _your apprentice,_ just got back from his trip. He _passed the test safely_ so I'm sending him over to join you."

Kanda froze. He could read between the lines alright. He wasn't dense. The subtle emphasis on words told him what he didn't want to know and didn't think could happen. Allen had returned from a mission. Safely, his mind added here because Komui said safely. Allen tested positive as a magic wielder. Allen was coming to join him on his year long mission. Worst of all, he had to teach the brat.

"I don't know the first thing about teaching an apprentice!." Kanda snarled at the golem. Komui tutted disapprovingly.

"How hard can it be, Kanda. Just do what your master did and teach Allen like Lavi taught you."

Easier said than done, Kanda thought mutinously. Unlike Lavi, he had no photographic memory or excellent pronunciation. Be like his master? Tiedoll was an eccentric man who left them alone most of the time unless it was to point out things of interest. Definitely not a good role model. Cross? Too womanizing. Panda-san? Kanda wasn't one to regularly beat up his apprentice however annoying they may be.

"I can't… teach." Kanda ground out between clenched teeth, aware of how absurd that sounded when he had been appointed as the Defence Teacher of a school. Komui snorted.

"I'll leave the transportation arrangements up to you." Komui said then abruptly cut the connection. Damn it all! Damn it all to hell! Damn the Innocence for being in such a place, damn himself for having magic in the first place, damn Komui for coming up with this hair brained scheme and damn Allen for being the only other exorcist with magic. It couldn't be Lenalee, Lavi, one of the new kids or even one of the Finders? It had to be Allen!

The swordsman took a few deep, deep breaths to calm himself and clamp down on the urge to severely mutilate something. He had to inform the Headmaster of this and persuade the old man to allow Allen into the school. Kanda undid the spells on his rooms carefully after he was sure that he was calm. The last time he had tried to counter spell something in a hurry, he had ended up botching the attempt and upending everything in the cafeteria back in the Black Order. Kanda stepped outside and headed straight to the Headmaster's office.

"Iced Mice." Kanda said in a tone that belied the temper that was brewing under his skin. He stepped past the gargoyles, walked up the stairs and entered the office.

"Professor Kanda! Is there something you needed!" Albus Dumbledore asked jovially. Kanda, a little thrown by the headmaster's carefree attitude, hesitated in speaking.

"I wish for my… " Kanda paused here, apprentice sounded so odd. "My apprentice… to join me here in Hogwarts. I feel that the cultural experience would be good for him." It was a viable reason, Kanda felt, the chance to learn about different cultures and different lifestyles. He repeated "My apprentice" several more times in his head to get used to thinking of Allen that way.

The headmaster steepled his fingers and looked at his phoenix as if conversing with it. Kanda nodded at it by way of greeting when it looked at him and trilled softly. It flapped over to him and perched on his shoulder, nipping at his ear in an affectionate manner. Kanda froze, not accustomed to having an enormous bird on his shoulder. It made him extremely nervous, not matter how auspicious the bird was rumoured to be. Auspicious birds did have huge beaks and would utilize them when pissed off.

"Fawkes seems to like you a lot!" Albus remarked, his eyes twinkling brightly. Kanda had to fight the urge to squirm for fear of dislodging the big bird. Why on earth did it like him so badly? He wasn't anything special. Fawkes trilled by his ear as if reassuring him then chirped at Albus.

The headmaster nodded slowly as if contemplating something. Kanda made a point of not looking him in the eyes. Remembering the itchy nagging feeling he had the last time.

"I will allow your apprentice to join you." Albus finally said. Kanda had the growing feeling that there was a condition and he wasn't going to like it.

"But he shall have to attend classes with the rest of the students." Albus continued. Kanda's hand drifted to his sword, the tips of his fingers resting gently on it as he mulled it over. He did not notice the way the headmaster's eyes narrowed.

If he allowed Allen to mingle with the students, Allen might accidentally let slip on their true identities and compromise their mission. Yet allowing Allen to mingle with the students might make him privy to information that other students would never share with a professor. Allen would also provide a second opinion and would ensure there was less chance of something being overlooked. The brat had gotten better at keeping his mouth shut though he was still quite chatty around people he trusted. There was an increase in the chances of getting discovered. But the chances of discovering the Innocence were also increased. Moreover, Allen was quite good at getting rid of Akuma quickly and silently. Kanda came to a decision quickly.

"Agreed."

With that, the swordsman turned and exited. He would let Komui know. It was time to prepare to have his apprentice by his side.

* * *

Allen fidgeted. He couldn't stop himself. Armed with little more than a stick and hastily recorded reminders of what to and not to do on Timcampy, he was going to be sent to a completely foreign place. To top it off, he was going to be Kanda's apprentice. The white haired teen could only hope that Kanda would not abuse his new position as a master and make him do all sorts of odd jobs like Cross used to do.

Lavi had given him a quick run down of spells he needed to know but Allen couldn't remember them all. He was outside, a curious looking stone in his hand, sent to him by Kanda who claimed it would take him to the castle. Lenalee was standing beside him, a silent source of comfort.

It wasn't as if going someplace new was a foreign concept to Allen. It was more of the fact that he wasn't going to be able to use his Innocence freely as he liked to do. He would have to rely on Kanda, who still frequently insisted that he would leave Allen behind if Allen became a burden, to teach him, guide him and mentor him.

Allen stole a glance at his watch. Hmm, it was past the time stated, why hadn't the port thingy activated yet?

And so, the two exorcists waited outside until it was nearly nightfall because Kanda had forgotten to take into consideration the difference in time zones.

* * *

There was a brief silence directly after Allen appeared right outside the gates of Hogwarts and stumbled. He didn't expect Kanda to even make a move to steady him and so was quite unpleasantly surprised when he realized that the older male had actually moved to catch Allen when the boy tripped.

Allen blinked up at Kanda, making no indication that he was going to remove himself from his position in Kanda's arms anytime soon.

"K…. Kanda…" He began. "… sensei…" He tacked on the term for propriety's sake a little belatedly. Kanda glared down at him. A person who had less exposure to the swordsman would think that he was angry. Allen knew it was his default expression. Besides, there were fine creases at the edge of the other male's eyes which indicated his worry.

"Allen." Kanda said, voice tinged with genuine concern and a great deal of annoyance. Allen gulped. He had the feeling that he was in trouble.

"Ahem!"

The parasite exorcist turned to look at the prim woman dressed in black robes and a pointy hat. She looked at them both pointedly. Allen blushed, uncomfortably aware of how close they had been. He quickly scrambled away from Kanda, straightening his shirt and tie hastily then bowing to the elderly witch politely.

"Professor McGonagall, this is my apprentice, Allen Walker." Kanda said smoothly, he didn't even pause at the word apprentice. Allen envied him, he still had trouble calling Kanda sensei. How odd! Allen was only three years younger than Kanda, it felt weird, calling him teacher.

"Pleasure to meet you, Professor!" Allen said, extending his hand for McGonagall to shake. She did so in a stiff and brisk manner.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Walker." She replied. Allen had the distinct impression that she disapproved of the both of them right now but was refraining from commenting on it for politeness sake. Kanda turned to face the great castle.

"Come, Allen. You'll be staying with me until term starts." With that, he strode away with Professor McGonagall by his side, leaving Allen to pick up his suitcase and run after the two of them.

* * *

"Ka… Kanda sensei…" Allen looked the picture of misery as he sat upon the bed in the room adjacent to Kanda's own. The swordsman refused to look at him. Every time he gazed at Allen, he would be reminded of how well the other male had fit in his arms when he fell. The worry he felt when Allen had tripped. How silly. Kanda scoffed at himself. Emotions were a weakness, clouding judgment and defying logic. Besides, the brat was old enough and competent enough to take care of himself! He 'hn'ed at Allen, indicating that Allen could say whatever he wanted to say.

"What do they mean by… when term starts, I'll have to sleep… with the others?" Allen asked nervously, no doubt thinking of 'sleep with' in a naughty way. Given his previous master's track record with women, it was quite understandable why Allen would think that way. Kanda gave him a brief glance as he walked around the room, inspecting the things that Allen had brought.

"The school is divided into four houses depending on a person's traits." Kanda began, looking disapprovingly at a picture of Lenalee and Lavi which was sitting on the table. "The courageous are place in Gryffindor, the ambitious in Slytherin, the clever in Ravenclaw and the loyal in Hufflepuff." He debated on whether to order Allen to destroy the picture. It may have seemed like a cold hearted decision but Kanda was concerned that someone might see it and track the other two exorcists down. Besides, the two friends were wearing exorcist coats and were standing in front of the huge castle.

"Hide this." He tossed it at Allen. Allen pouted but obeyed, taking the picture out and slipping it into a tiny compartment in his suitcase. Besides the picture, Allen had brought nothing of sentimental value. Everything else was bare necessities, exactly like on a mission.

Kanda turned to face his 'apprentice', a million spells and warnings racing through his mind. He had so much to tell Allen, so little time. What was more relevant?

"Moyashi, pay attention to what I'm going to tell you now." Kanda said as he cast spells over the room to prevent people from listening in. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the portraits sidle out of its frame and into the next. Allen made an annoyed sound at the nickname but looked at him attentively. Sighing, Kanda prepared himself to give a very, very long speech.

"First, do not look into the Headmaster's eyes no matter what. He has a spell to look into your mind. Secondly, be very careful around Dolores Umbridge. She has a lot of political power. Thirdly, this castle is filled with trick steps and ghosts. Do not be alarmed. Fourthly…"

* * *

It would be the second time Kanda stepped in Diagon Alley, but he was no less twitchy than the first. This time Rubeus Hagrid had been sent to guide them around the marketplace. He served as a huge sign post for the two exorcists in the milling crowds of students. Allen stayed unnecessarily close to Kanda, looking quite torn between gawking over every single item magical or otherwise, and retaining a prim and proper attitude as was befitting of an exorcist.

He gave up retaining his dignity and ran off to exclaim over the pets after they bought his robes and school supplies, leaving Kanda to shake his head at Allen's antics. This proved that General-dom did not equal maturity. In fact, the more Kanda thought about it, the more he realized that most Generals were quite infantile. One could only hope that Allen did not reach that level of eccentricity. The sword wielder strode over to Allen who was cradling a kitten to his chest and stroking it happily.

"No, you may not." Kanda said before Allen could ask. He plucked the kitten from Allen's grasping hands, set it down and steered the younger male in the direction of the bookstore. They had been here half a day and they still weren't done! The plus side of having Allen around was his cursed eye. Now Kanda was less worried about Akuma popping up and stabbing them in the back because Allen would be able to see them. Now the question would be, how on earth to get rid of them, without anyone noticing?

The Japanese young man stood to the side as the shopkeeper gathered the books on the book list. There was quite a crowd, all clamouring for school books. Allen looked imploring at Kanda then at the stack of books. It wasn't as if Allen couldn't lift it, it was just cumbersome. Kanda held up his wand, reciting the shrinking spell under his breath. It took him several tries to shrink down the stack of books to an acceptable size, drawing several stares from the other customers.

"Thank you!" Allen crowed, stuffing the books into his pocket. Kanda glared at him, successfully deterring Allen from tacking on 'master' at the end of the sentence. Master… it made him feel old. And like a pedophile. A very old pedophile.

"Excuse me miss!"

It took every ounce of Kanda's self control not to unsheathe his sword and decimate the red head who hailed him.

"You're standing in the way miss. By the way, you shouldn't glare so much, you look like a man."

"I… do not own ovaries. Please do not refer to me as such." Kanda said, glaring at Allen who was gripping the table and trembling with suppressed laughter.

"I'm so sorry!" the redhead's female companion apologized, hitting her friend over the head with a large book.

"I told him that you were a guy but he wouldn't listen!"

"Brat." Kanda snapped at Allen in a rather impressive impression of General Marian. The white haired exorcist jumped and looked around wildly, half expecting the older male to materialize.

"Come. We're leaving." He did not enjoy listening to the over-excited babbled explanations of the bushy haired girl. Allen quickly followed behind Kanda. To the swordsman's horror, the duo actually followed. Another boy joined their group and started chatting animatedly behind Kanda and Allen as the two exorcists made their way over to Hagrid.

"I see you've found our new Defense Professor!" Hagrid exclaimed loudly when Kanda and Allen arrived in front of him. The two exorcists stared as if the huge man had gone out of his mind only to realize that Hagrid was talking to the trio that had been following them since the bookstore.

"Defense professor? Surely you can't mean the girly bloke over there!"

And they called Kanda tactless.

* * *

_This ten page writing is getting to me. Really getting to me and messing up my sight. This chapter was originally part of Chapter 1. But I told myself that each chapter would be no longer, no less than 10- 11 pages. Hence I chopped it off and made the second chapter. Monthly exams are for a week or so after which I have about four clubs to care for in different ways._


	3. Chapter 3

_3_

_3_

_If I owned it, would I be writing this?_

_**RoB**: I didn't know that Tim had been eaten more than once. I thought it was only one time._

_**Buchouslvr: **Half true. I do some scenes from different perspectives._

_You guys are awesome. But now I'm terrified that I'll disappoint you by starting to write the characters OOC. I mentioned before that this would be a slash story but it's not going to have sex in it. Well, I don't plan on it anyway._

--

* * *

_Love is patient, love is kind._ Kanda recited under his breath, trying to control his temper. The girl, whom Kanda belatedly remembered was mentioned in passing as Hermione Granger, glared at the boy and hit him again. The dark haired one was agape in mortification and horror. Allen had burst out laughing by now, unable to control himself. Kanda was infuriated beyond belief. _It does not envy, does not boast. _He recited furiously under his breath. Why wasn't it working this time?

"Stop laughing brat!" Kanda snarled. Allen clapped one hand over his mouth and doubled over, trying to muffle his giggling. Kanda growled low in his throat. He hated being mistaken as a girl. He hated that he was on this totally unnecessary mission doing unnecessary shopping. He hated that he had to be alert constantly. He hated being suspicious of everything. Most of all, he hated the fact that Allen was laughing at him! Anger surged to the surface, blinding his judgment. He raised his hand high.

"_I said stop laughing brat!"_

When Kanda came to his senses, Allen was holding his cheek, staring at the ground like a chastised child. Anyone who had heard the loud crack of flesh on flesh had stopped to stare. Already, he could see the outline of a palm forming on Allen's skin. Guilt washed over the swordsman. The white haired boy wasn't at fault. Kanda shouldn't have slapped him. He shouldn't have….

But he swallowed the words in his throat and turned abruptly.

"We're leaving., brat" He snarled, stalking off to the Leaky Cauldron. The soft padding of boots hitting the floor assured him that Allen was following.

--

* * *

Kanda didn't look at his colleague as he took a pinch of Floo powder. The swordsman pulled Allen to his side roughly, grimacing as he realized that the imprint was now an angry red and would probably bruise. He brushed Allen's hair aside and gently touched his cheek. Wrath was his greatest flaw. He let it control him instead of him controlling it. After years of training and discipline, he still couldn't quell his rage. Was all that meditation for naught?

"I shouldn't have." He whispered, guilt creeping into his voice. He was turning into the Panda. Never again, he vowed. He wouldn't abuse his 'student'. To his surprise, Allen tugged on his sleeve and smiled.

"Apology accepted."

"…" Kanda was rendered speechless. Just like that? He didn't even say the 'S' word! Honestly, Allen was too forgiving. Still, the two words lifted a burden from his mind and he felt a little lighter. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards of their own accord as he turned and threw the grey powder into the grate. The fire flared green.

"Hogwarts Great Hall!" The two disappeared in a whirl.

--

* * *

"That was the Defense Professor?" Harry asked in disbelief. The trio was still a stunned at the rough way the Japanese man handled the white haired child. The name calling, the permanent scowl, the slap, it all seemed extremely violent. Who knew, he might raise his hand against them!

"Ye, that was him." Hagrid replied. The giant was quite confused. Kanda had seemed like a well mannered person though a little stern and tight lipped at first. He didn't expect the new teacher to be so violent towards someone that was supposed to be his apprentice.

Hermione had on a troubled expression. The brown haired witch tapped her lips thoughtfully as they made their way towards the Ice Cream Parlour.

--

* * *

Kanda had a dilemma. In a world where almost anything could be explained away as magic, how was one to know that strange happenings happened because of Innocence or magic? Hence, the swordsman was in a library-like room he found, looking up strange isolated incidents in Hogwarts. A History and cross referencing them with other incidents around the world.

Allen was off to the side, attempting to levitate a book and failing. The book wavered unsteadily, dipping and rising several times.

"Kanda, is it supposed to do that?" He whined. He couldn't help himself. Just when he thought he was getting it right, the book would fall. It was getting irritating and making him lose confidence.

The older male looked up distractedly and observed the way Allen was holding his wand. No problem there as far as he could see. Technically, Allen should not be having any problems, and yet he was. Kanda frowned.

"That happened to me at first. It goes away after you practice." He said, turning his attention to his books again. There had been several incidents in the previous war where the school had deflected particularly strong attacks despite having dilapidated wards. Was that worth looking into? Kanda made a note of it on the parchment.

Allen had moved on to getting the book to zoom around the room at a moderate pace. It still dipped a little at times but overall was much steadier.

"Is it dinner time yet?" Allen asked as he rubbed his still sore cheek. Kanda frowned. He could swear he smelt rice. Fried rice with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, eggs, mushrooms and a liberal sprinkling of pepper. He dismissed it as his imagination, not noticing the plate that appeared on one of the shelves.

"No it is not. And even if it were, you are forbidden to eat in the Hall. You shall dine in my rooms every day." Kanda replied. Allen's voracious appetite was definitely not fit for the public eye. Not fit for any eye, actually. The white haired teen nodded, not caring where he ate as long as he had a chance to eat. He touched his cheek rubbing at the rapidly darkening bruise.

"When's dinner?"

Kanda noted that the book was zipping around erratically as Allen started to become distracted. He shut his book with a snap, gathering his parchment. Allen would never learn anything if the boy was constantly thinking about his stomach.

"Come, let us head back." Kanda said briskly. It wouldn't do to let Allen get lost in this school. Who knows what he might come across!

--

* * *

Kanda left Allen in his room with a house elves, intent on feeding Allen till he burst. The swordsman was a little wary about letting Allen ingest food that seemed to appear out of no where. Everything had to come from something. That was the way he was taught. It was unnerving to watch plates and plates of food just appear like that.

But Allen was happy and well fed. That was enough for now, Kanda supposed as he sat down for his own dinner in the hall. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to realize that he had sat down beside the High Inquisitor.

"Why, Mr. Kanda. I haven't seen you all day!" the woman exclaimed whether in false sweetness or with sincerity, Kanda couldn't tell. The swordsman barely managed to keep his face straight as he gave her tight, cold smile.

"And I you, Miss Umbridge." He pointedly turned to his plate and clasped his hands together, bowing his head in a prayer of thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Umbridge did not get the point.

"I heard you have an apprentice." She continued, under the impression that the conversation was still going. Kanda tried to block her out, repeating 'Lord bless this meal' under his breath several times while he tried to remember what to say after that.

"I haven't seen him either."

Was he doomed to be followed by people who wouldn't shut up? Here, Kanda squeezed his eyes tighter. He repeated 'Though men do not live on bread alone' twice, both times imagining Allen eating bread for the rest of his life.

"You should introduce us sometimes!"

His prayer of thanksgiving took a slight detour and he mouthed 'Dear Lord, please allow me to enjoy my meal, in silence.' He ended with a rather loud "All in the Lord's name. Amen."

Ah… sweet silence. Kanda picked up his spoon and helped himself to some potatoes. The silence was worth the shocked and horrified stares he was getting from the other teachers. Ask, and ye shall receive. Kanda always believed. The swordsman murmured his thanks to the Lord as he bit down on a piece of chicken. Not bad, but nothing could beat soba.

--

* * *

Allen was having the time of his life. There was copious amounts of food, no need to wait in line and best of all, no one to remark the way he devoured everything. He couldn't help the fact that he needed to replenish his energy by eating and he hated the fact that a lot of people thought it was weird or strange. It was simple to him, parasitic innocence used more energy, so the exorcists needed to eat more. End story.

The white haired boy was quite satiated by the time Kanda showed up.

"Moyashi."

Allen stood quickly and dusted crumbs off his pants.

"Dfnt, cafft mfft tfftht!" He replied with a mouthful of pie. Kanda smirked and rolled his eyes at Allen's deplorable manners. The white haired boy couldn't help but blush out of embarrassment.

"Done?"

Allen nodded quickly, still scowling at his senior. The swordsman whipped out his wand and waved it at the leftover food, murmuring a spell. To Allen's disappointment, the food disappeared. He was hoping to have some more later.

"Allen."

Now that got his attention. Kanda rarely used his name. The white haired boy looked up to see a thoroughly irritated sword wielder looking at him seriously.

"Very soon, we're going to be separated." A brief pause as the older male searched for the words to say. "Try to act like one of the students and befriend them if you can. See if you can get anything out of them." The dark coloured gaze turned to rest on Allen.

"Moyashi," The pause suggested that Kanda was searching for the right words to say.

The younger boy held his breath, half-expecting something profound to slip from the swordsman's lips.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Well, Allen wouldn't stop hoping.

--

* * *

Allen did his best to avoid being seen without Kanda around the castle. He didn't know what to say when he was with the professors and he especially had nothing to say to Umbridge. She kept giving him funny looks whenever he appeared so he had taken to walking two steps behind Kanda at all times. Like now, he was sitting next to Kanda at the teachers table as he waited for Kanda to finish breakfast. He could feel eyes following his every movement as he fidgeted. Why oh why was he an apprentice? Apprentices couldn't make fun of their masters. Well they weren't supposed to but teasing Kanda would make him feel better. Loads better. How on earth was Kanda holding up without soba and tempura anyway?

"Are you aware that make up isn't allowed in this school?" Professor Snape sneered at the white haired boy. Allen was flabbergasted.

"I'm not wearing make up!" He protested. Kanda turned slightly to watch them.

"Then I suppose that you'll tell me that your star is a birth defect?" The potions master said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Allen's subconsciously touched his face and covered his left eye with his hand, feeling quite uncomfortable. How was he going to explain his scar?

"It's… not." He said defiantly.

"Then what is it? Is it a cursed scar? I've never seen anything like it before!" Professor Flitwick interjected, looking closely at Allen with interest. Kanda slammed down his chopsticks, making several teachers jump.

"Come, brat. We're going outside." With that, the swordsman got up and strode away. Allen scrambled out of his chair quickly to follow, thankful for the distraction. Why on earth was he so tongue tied anyway? Oh right, he was terrified of saying something wrong. He knew that what came out of his mouth didn't necessarily go through his brain first.

Once they were standing outside and in front of the lake, Kanda turned to Allen.

"I forbid you to speak about your mark." He said forcefully. The younger boy stared, wide-eyed and uncomprehending for all of one minute before he realized that Kanda was giving him a way out of all those pesky questions. All he had to do was to say that he had been forbidden to talk about it. No one would challenge a professor anyway.

"Yes, sir." Allen replied dutifully. Kanda made a derisive sound in the back of his throat and glared out at the waters where a long tentacle broke the surface of the water. The parasite exorcist could have sworn he heard Kanda murmur something that sounded suspiciously like 'sushi' before tossing a wooden sword at Allen.

"You've gotten rusty."

It was a statement, not a question. Allen bristled in anger at the unspoken challenge. Kanda liked to speak as if he knew everything. Ha, Allen would show him that collecting Innocence hadn't been the only thing he had been doing on missions.

Allen slid fluidly into a basic stance which allowed him to defend and attack easily. A twinge of satisfaction filled his heart when he saw his opponent smirk. It was a sign of approval. A twisted kind of approval but approval all the same. The swordsman adopted a deep crouch, holding his still sheathed sword close to his face.

Without warning, he lunged and Allen barely managed to block his upward slash and deflect it to the side. Kanda used the direction of deflection to spin around and bring his sword down roughly. The younger boy ducked and rolled away, standing up a few feet away from Kanda.

"Not bad." The sword wielder's tone was mocking. Allen stuck his tongue out at Kanda to say 'Ha! I'm not rusty after all!'. He hastily withdrew his tongue when Kanda's now unsheathed sword stopped right beside it. A bead of sweat trickled down Allen's cheek when he realized that Kanda had not only pulled out his sword but had also gotten close enough to cut his tongue out without the white haired boy noticing.

"But not good either." Kanda continued, his cocky smirk a blatant challenge to the younger male. Allen growled. He was still a General though he was posing as an apprentice. There was no way the parasitic exorcist was letting someone who ranked lower talk down to him. Not even Kanda.

With a battle cry, he lunged at his opponent, intent on making the other eat his words.

--

* * *

"Are you alright?" Professor Sprout asked in concern as she watched the white haired child limp through the hallways to the Great Hall. The new professor starting sparring with his apprentice everyday since he arrived and it seemed to be taking a toll on the teenager. Mr. Kanda had not gone easy on the younger boy even though it was the day of the Sorting Feast and the day Allen was supposed to be sorted. Her initial impression of the Defense Professor had been revised several times since she saw his apprentice. Masters were definitely not supposed to treat their apprentices like trash.

Allen turned to look at her with an expression of surprise.

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" He asked her, looking totally bewildered. Professor Sprout was taken aback. Surely he hadn't gotten so used to being in pain that he thought it was alright?

"You're limping, child." She said gently, taking him by the elbow. "Why don't you go to see Madam Pomfrey? She'll fix you right up." The kindly professor suggested. Allen gently removed her hand and patted it softly.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Professor Sprout. Besides, I'm not going to get stronger if I fix everything with magic."

His reply was gentle, happy and carefree. So why did it make the professor worry so much? Professor Kanda seemed to be extremely violent with the child. Yet Allen had no complaints about it. Surely Kanda could not be abusing the poor child?

"Brat. I thought I told you to be in the Hall five minutes ago! What took you so long?" Speak of the devil! Kanda stood at the doors to the Great Hall, foot tapping impatiently. His dark expression seemed to have no effect on the teenaged apprentice. Allen even gave him an amused look.

"Sorry for making you wait sensei. Professor Sprout just asked me if I was alright." Was the soft reply. Allen seemed to be happy that his master was scolding him. Somehow, Kanda's expression seemed to soften.

"Don't just stand there! Answer her!" Kanda snapped, folding his arms across his chest. The movement made his robes swirl around him, exposing the sword he wore at all times for a brief second. The Herbologist had the distinct feeling that the man had killed with it more than one time and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

"I'm alright Professor Sprout, nothing to worry about." The head of Hufflepuff was brought out of her musings when Allen clapped her on the shoulder in a friendly and reassuring manner.

"Now come! I'll have to take you to Professor McGonagall to be sorted." Kanda spun on his heel. His apprentice limped after him at an impressive pace.

--

* * *

"Wait here." The tone of voice was rude. The sentence was directed at the teen standing in front of the first years standing outside the Great Hall waiting to be sorted. The Irish witch made a disapproving sound at the way Kanda addressed Allen.

"Behave. Or else."

Most of the eleven year olds winced at the underlying threat issued by the dark haired Asian looking man. But the teen only smiled and nodded. He knew that Kanda was worried that something might happen and that there would be no one to help.

"Yes, sir." He replied.

"And don't do anything stupid." Kanda snarled before turning on his heel and heading back to the teacher's table. Allen was careful not to grin widely. With Kanda, that was as close to 'Be careful' as he could get. The swordsman was such a worrywart, what was the worst thing that could happen? With that thought in mind, Allen started to shuffle to the back of the line. His muscles in his right leg were still protesting from the spar that morning where he had done an impromptu split to avoid Kanda's sword. He was getting rusty in his flexibility. Allen briefly wondered how this Sorting would be carried out. How on earth did you determine someone's courage, ambition, loyalty and intelligence anyway? As far as Allen knew, the only way to do that was to read their minds. Here he stumbled as he realized something. What if they had a way to look into his mind? This was a magic school after all! If they could make food appear, things disappear and rear a squid so big it could feed Africa for a week, who knows what they might have! The young General had a hard time keeping his face straight as he took his place at the last of the line. Who knew what they would see when they did! What if they found out? It hadn't even been a week since he got here. Allen numbly followed the line of first years into the Hall. It would be terrible if he blew their cover. Kanda would never forgive him not to mention all chances of recovering Innocence would be gone.

He was so lost in his thoughts that when he looked up, the tattered hat upon the stool had finished singing. Allen was starting to panic. The first student was called. All the eleven year old did was to sit down and put the hat on his head. After a few moments, a split opened in the brim of a hat and the hat let out a loud cry.

"Hufflepuff!"

The child ran to join one of the tables. Dread bubbled up in Allen's chest as he surveyed the tables. One table was decked in green and silver- Slytherin, judging from the snake on the banner- and had many snobby looking faces. The yellow and black table- Hufflepuff if Allen wasn't mistaken- seemed to have a friendly bunch of people. The bunch at the blue and bronze table - Ravenclaw perhaps?- looked to be really bored and the ones at the red and gold table- most probably Gryffindor- seemed to be a boisterous lot. Did Allen even have a say in where he was placed? If he really had to choose, he didn't want to be in any of them. If he remembered his extremely brief history lesson correctly, Slytherins were commonly misconceived to be evil, the Hufflepuffs to be pushovers, the Ravenclaws to be extreme bookworms and the Gryffindors to be courageous idiots. Allen didn't fancy being any of them.

Allen looked up, feeling shaken when his name was called and all eyes swiveled to look at him. He noted that Kanda was glaring at him. A glare that said that there was going to be hell to pay if Allen did something stupid.

With great trepidation, Allen took a step forward as he stared at the hat. He prayed hard that he wouldn't mess up this time. A sense of peace washed over him as he looked up and locked gazes with the other exorcist again. Why was he so afraid anyway? Allen was a general, he wouldn't let some silly old hat intimidate him. He smiled darkly as he limped towards the stool with a little more confidence. If the hat said anything, anything at all about him and his past or his future, Allen would make sure that there would be a 'tragedy'. A tragedy so tragic, even the Earl would not be able to bear it.

Maybe it was his imagination but the hat was shaking before he even got to the stool.

"Slytherin!" it cried when Allen made to pick it up. Allen's head snapped up, looking at the teachers table in surprise. Kanda had covered his face with his palm, looking thoroughly annoyed and disgusted. Allen turned, not sure where he was supposed to sit. The silence was unnerving.

Slowly, the snobbish looking teenagers started to clap and the other houses soon followed suit. Allen shuffled towards the table quickly, wanting to get out of the spotlight quickly. As soon as he sat down opposite a pale young man, the Headmaster stood and spread his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"As you can see, we have a new Professor!" He indicated Kanda who stood and nodded. "His name is Yuu Kanda and he will be teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts!" Kanda sat down in an unconcerned manner, black expression in place.

"Professor Kanda's apprentice is Mr. Allen Walker." Albus Dumbledore gestured to the white haired child. Allen wanted to sink down and die. Was it really necessary to announce it? He glared at the empty plate in front of him.

"Now!" the headmaster was about to say something but was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing her throat. To Allen's disgust, it was the pink loving woman who stood up to say a few words. He tuned her out and turned his attention to his housemates.

They were all regarding him with the air of someone looking at dung stuck to their shoe. But Allen was impervious. He had been on the receiving end of that look many times before. From Kanda no less. The exorcist merely pasted on his most charming smile and nodded at them politely. He turned to glance at Kanda who was massaging his temples.

"You're his apprentice?" A pug-faced girl asked in a condescending manner. She stole a look at the professor in question. "Hmph, he doesn't look like much." She laughed softly, completely ignoring what Madam Umbridge was saying. Allen shrugged and folded his hands in his lap.

"Appearances can be deceiving." He replied and nodded sagely. Clapping signaled the end of Umbridge's speech and the beginning of the feast. Allen didn't blink when the food appeared. It did that in the kitchen and in his rooms anyway. But he was torn between staying here and heading off to the kitchen. Kanda had told him to dine alone hadn't he? But this was the sorting feast, surely one meal couldn't matter?

Allen looked up, catching his 'master's gaze. The teenagers pushed away from the table just a little, hoping that Kanda would get the idea. Apparently, he did because the swordsman shook his head slightly.

The white haired boy shifted to look as if he was just stretching.

"I've never heard of the Walkers." One pale faced boy said rudely, pointing at Allen with a fork. "You wouldn't happen to be a mudblood would you?" he asked, eyes narrowing. Allen helped himself to some salad and hummed softly.

"Well, I'm not that sure because my parents were brutally murdered." Here, the white haired teen paused to take a bite. "Master won't tell me about it cause he says that they might come after me next."

His housemates looked suitably impressed at his partially true story. There was a soft hum of acknowledgement from several of the older looking teens.

"Do you play Quidditch?" A dark haired teen asked, leaning forward to look at Allen. Allen hummed again. He had read about Quidditch and Kanda had explained it to him. It was a game played on brooms midair. Judging from the calculative expression on his fellow Slytherin's faces, playing Quidditch was something that was revered and respected.

"I moved around too much to play properly, though I would love to try." He replied with a polite and charming smile. Maybe it was his imagination but he could have sworn he saw several girls from the other end of the table sigh and look at him dreamily.

"Your face, is that a cursed scar?" The pug faced girl asked inquisitively, she reached out to touch his hair. It took every fibre of Allen's self control not to pull away as he remembered the way Rhode had stabbed his eye. Instead he closed his eyes and smiled darkly, it would be better if he tried to fit in with the Slytherin stereotype first: dark and mysterious.

"Now that would be telling." He whispered conspiratorially. His housemates shared a look amongst themselves, seeming to debate whether he was worthy of their attention.

"My name is Montague." The dark haired boy said, extending his hand towards Allen. "Seventh Year. This is Draco Malfoy, that's Pansy Parkinson and he's Blaise Zabini. All fifth years." The boy said, gesturing to his housemates. Allen shook their hands politely, stealing a glance at Kanda while he did so.

The swordsman gave him the tiniest of smirks and nodded ever so slightly.

* * *

The Slytherins were gathered in their common rooms after dinner. The fourth years and above were either seated on the couches or armchairs. The second and third years stood or sat near their seniors while the first years sat on the lush throw rug in the middle of the common room. The room was mostly silent except for the soft chattering of the first years. The Slytherins, Draco reflected, were really like a nest of snakes, lounging around digesting their food contently after a huge meal.

Everyone turned to gaze at the portrait hole when it swung open and Professor Snape stepped in. Silence fell over the common room as Severus's dark gaze swept over the students gathered there. The only light came from the fireplace. The absence of windows in the Dungeons only served to make the place darker. The shadows danced as Professor Snape walked around the room slowly, circling the first years twice. Draco had been awed the first time he had seen his godfather do this. The dour man never said a word but somehow, Draco had felt safe because he knew that the potions professor was taking note of the young serpents.

After inspecting the new arrivals, Severus walked over to the portrait hole and paused. He turned to face Allen, scrutinizing the teenager.

"Your master says," Snape sneered. "Don't do anything stupid, brat."

Allen laughed. Draco raised an eyebrow at his actions. It was as if Allen did not take his master's threats seriously. The teen must either know something they didn't or have a serious death wish.

"Thank you, sir." Allen said with a smile. Severus made a derisive sound as if he did not believe that Allen was sincere then swept out of the room.

The first years started talking again, most of them subdued by Professor Snape's dark aura. Draco watched as some of the sixth and seventh years ushered the youngsters up the stairs to bed. Next year, he would be one of them, responsible for taking care of the kids.

The mood was quiet and contemplative. Most of the remaining snakes seemed only mildly interested in Allen. He had been easily accepted into their fold as a fellow serpent because of the way the hat had sorted him. Oh for someone to be sorted before they even touched the hat, Allen must either be extremely ambitious or really dark. Draco looked over at the white haired teenager who was busy massaging his arm.

"You're in Seventh Year, aren't you?" he leaned over to ask. Allen looked at him with something akin to amusement in his eyes.

"I will be." Was the short reply. Draco shifted the position of his chair so that he was partially facing the older boy. They wouldn't be in the same class, but Draco had the feeling that he would be seeing a lot of Allen anyway. Pansy nudged Draco in the side. The million dollar question. Did Allen wish for the light? Draco saw no point in beating around the bush.

"Are you a follower of the Dark Lord?"

Allen raised his head to look at the silver eyed boy and raised an eyebrow. He raised one gloved hand to brush his hair out of his face as he seemed to think.

"I'm not. And I won't be." Allen said bluntly. Their gazes locked and Draco could see an unspoken challenge in there. Allen was daring Draco to change his mind. The young Malfoy subconsciously knew that it would be a wasted effort anyway so he inclined his head.

"What about Albus Dumbledore or the Ministry?"

Here, Allen snorted and covered his mouth with one glove, trying to suppress his laughter. Draco watched Montague and the other seventh years come back down the stairs out of the corner of his eye. Irving Shard, a Seventh Year gave him a disapproving look as if to reprimand Draco about being so blunt. After all, Slytherin preferred subtlety.

"My master distrusts the Headmaster and the Ministry." Allen sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I don't disagree." He spread his palms upward and shrugged.

There was a murmur of agreement amongst the sixth and fifth years who were listening. Those who were not followers of the Dark Lord few as they may be, also did not trust the Ministry or the headmaster.

"I, am going to bed." Allen said decidedly. He pushed himself up with a little bit of difficulty and steadied himself with the arm of the chair. Draco frowned as he realized that Allen was standing in a way that suggested that he was hurt in many places. Canes, a seventh year stood up.

"Come, I'll take you there."

The two teenagers descended the stairs deeper into the dungeons.

--

* * *

It was very early but Kanda was already in his classroom. With a little bit of research and practice, he had managed to rearrange the room to suit his liking. All the posters had been taken down, leaving no room for distraction. The walls were a pastel blue colour and the tables were arranged neatly two by two.

He had only seen Allen briefly that morning when he let the boy in for breakfast. Allen had scarfed down everything set in front of him and then some as if he had been starving.

_"So?" The single syllable that had issued from the swordsman's mouth hung in the air uncomfortably. Allen looked up._

_"Nothing yet. But they like me so far." He said flatly. Kanda had nodded then stepped out of the room to get his own breakfast. He had decided to leave off sparring with Allen until they had properly settled into school life. He couldn't risk Allen not being at full capacity if there was an attack or something during school hours.  
_

The sword wielder shook his head slightly, clearing thoughts of white haired boys and their morbidly fascinating arms from his mind. He picked up the lesson plans and went through them one last time before classes started.

He only got halfway when his first class entered. The first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. As they filtered in one by one, Kanda felt a pang of nostalgia. They looked so small, vulnerable and scared. Was he ever like that at their age? He could never remember a time when he had been defenseless and that was exactly what his students were right now.

"Sit." He said in a tone that was soft but stern. They obeyed quickly.

"Books out, wands away. Theory first, magic later." He stated as he picked up the chalk to write on the blackboard. He wrote down the first spell that Lavi had him memorize, the pronunciation, the effects and the wand movement. When he turned around, he realized that his students were just staring at him.

"What are you waiting for? Take that down!" Kanda snapped a little too harshly for his own liking. The students scrambled for quills, ink and parchment, all of them copying down the words quickly. As Kanda walked around the classroom, looking at what they wrote, he came to a horrible conclusion.

They had terrible penmanship.

--

* * *

"So, Allen." Montague had taken it upon himself to walk beside Allen and tell him about Hogwarts. "How do you find Hogwarts?"

Allen was more than a little distracted since Timcampy kept wanting to get free and fly around that morning. In the end, Allen had resorted to using a Disillusionment spell on the golem and letting it fly around his rooms. Now, the parasite exorcist wasn't so sure that was a good idea because he kept feeling Timcampy's wings around his head. Ha, don't do anything stupid, Kanda would be furious.

"Oh hm? I don't find it that well, that's why I use Point Me." Was the distracted reply. The white haired boy ran a hand through his hair and adjusted the strap of his bag. He didn't notice the befuddled look that Montague shared with Irving and Canes.

Thank God he was only taking the basic subjects like Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, History and Defence Against the Dark Arts. He hadn't a clue about Ancient Runes, Herbology or Divination.

Allen took a deep breath as he stepped into the Transfiguration classroom. He could do this. He would learn and masquerade as a student and pull it off god-willing. The urge to make the sign of the cross was overwhelming despite the fact that he wasn't that religious and he didn't follow that particular doctrine.

"Take a seat." Professor McGonagall said sternly. Allen complied hastily, sliding into the seat between a pair of red headed twins.

"Look, if it isn't a little serpent!" One exclaimed.

"Why, it's mighty wee!" the other added. Then they grinned at each other as Allen flushed. It wasn't his fault he was still considered a little short for his age. Taking a deep breath, Allen sat up straighter and ignored the two boys. He could let it slide. It was the truth anyway, right? He was shorter and so smaller in size. There was no point in getting riled up. Yep, no point at all. Allen was a General now, Generals kept their cool and didn't do stupid things. Thankfully, he was saved by the sound of Professor McGonagall tapping her wand on the blackboard.

"Today, we will be practicing advanced Transfiguration." She waved her wand and the chalk started to write. Allen watched, quite fascinated with the neat writing it produced.

"The incantation is on page 16 of your text books. Instead of transfiguring items of similar size, today you shall be attempting to transfigure these tiny cupcakes into cauldrons. Points will be taken off for edible cauldrons but points will be given for those who manage to transfigure completely solid cauldrons. You may begin."

Allen flipped open his book and skimmed the first chapter quickly. The wand movement was a simple flick of the wand with more emphasis on the fingers instead of the wrist. Allen tried it out several times, swishing his rather bendy wand to get the feel of it.

"Grand… is… mag… nus…" He moved on to repeating the incantation under his breath until he could say it properly without hitching on the syllables. He could feel eyes on him because he was the only one not attempting to cast just yet. At your own pace, at your own pace, he reminded himself cautiously, trying to put together the wand movement and incantation together.

"_Grandismagnus._"

The cupcake swelled a little then turned into a dark bronze colour. Little by little, it hollowed out to become a cauldron.

"Well." Professor McGonagall tapped it with her wand. There was a small thudding sound. "A good first try. Try making it a little larger and less chocolatey, Mr Walker." She commented with a small smile as what looked to be chocolate chips fell off the tiny cauldron. "A point to Slytherin."

Allen smiled happily then blushed as his hard chocolate cauldron reverted into a cupcake with a pop. He flicked his wand a little harder, willing it to stay in cauldron form, not noticing the way the twins were whispering behind him.

--

* * *

"I dread this." Ron whispered to Harry as they stopped outside the Defense Classroom. Every single student that had taken this class had emerged subdued and quiet. It was a little scary the way the first years kept their heads down and the second years refused to talk about it. They would usually start talking when hailed by a senior.

"If I recall correctly, classes take place in the classroom, not outside the door." Kanda's acerbic tone floated through the door. The Golden Trio entered hastily and took the remaining empty seats as the Slytherins snickered. Harry glared at Draco Malfoy who was smirking rather nastily.

"Sit. Take out your quills and parchment and copy this down." Kanda snapped. Instead of the usual wand wave and chalk write, he chose to pick up the chalk and write the words by himself. The chalk tapped and clicked against the blackboard in quick and fast strokes.

"After seeing the general performance of the younger years, I'm inclined to believe that you lot will be no better. So I'm going to give you my first year material and see how well you deal with that before moving you on up."

The young Defense Teacher spun around and slammed his hands on the table, crushing the chalk underneath as whispers broke out. Hermione looked quite put out at what Professor Kanda had said and opened her mouth to say something but the swordsman glared at her.

"My father will hear about this!" Draco sputtered indignantly. Professor Kanda turned his near murderous gaze upon the blonde boy. The entire class watched with baited breath as the swordsman's hand drifted to his sword and caressed it in a way that left no doubt that he wanted to cut something very badly.

"Well, excuse you." Was the sarcastic reply as Kanda removed his hand from his sword. "Why aren't you lot writing?" He snapped. There was a flurry of activity as the students scrambled for their parchment and quills.

--

* * *

You get this chapter because:

_1. I passed Math T_

_2. Highest in MUET_

_3. I keep itching to write._


	4. Chapter 4

4

_4_

_Thanks for the encouragement. To answer your question Alva, yes I'm in Malaysia. No I haven't finished my pre-u. It's just the first monthly test that everyone bet that we would fail miserably but didn't. _

_Here's a tidbit: My name is Joanne._

_Disclaimer: I own D.Grayman. That's the reason everyone there is gay. They're not? I guess I don't own it then._

--

Allen did not fare well in his classes the next day. First, he messed up his wrist movement in charms and accidentally Engorged the poodle they were supposed to be shaving. Then in History, he dozed off and fell off his chair. Now, he had just exploded his cauldron and he had no idea how it happened seeing as though he was actually quite proficient in 'cooking' and he was sure that he had added all the correct ingredients.

The white haired boy bit his lip, cradling his burnt hands to his chest. He really regretted rolling up his robe sleeves because all that was left between the potion and his skin was his flimsy long sleeved shirt and his gloves.

Both seemed to be melting to his skin and it hurt. More than the time he had been separated from his Innocence.

"You imbecile!" Professor Snape shouted "Didn't I say that daisy roots are only added after removing the cauldron from the fire? That the Persimmon seeds would need to be crushed before being added to the mixture?"

Allen stared at the floor, not listening. He had no idea what would have caused such a volatile reaction. He had read the instructions in the text book carefully before beginning. Nothing, nothing in the ingredient list would have caused such an explosion. So someone had to have sabotaged his potion. The young General looked up with narrowed eyes. His Slytherin housemates were glaring daggers at the Gryffindors, animosity hung heavy in the air. Allen could understand having an age old feud between houses, but when it escalated to sabotaging potions with intent to harm a person that they had barely even ment, it was just plain stupid.

"I don't know who did it and I don't care. I'm not going to take part in this stupid rivalry. You are all idiots." The white haired teen declared. Tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes because of the stinging in his hands. He turned, ignoring Professor Snape and walked out the door.

"Wait!" Irving caught his sleeve, her dark green eyes gazed into his honey coloured ones. "I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey. She'll fix this." Her voice was soft and filled with worry.

"Thank you." Allen whispered.

--

It was merely the second day but Kanda was exhausted. Now he knew why all the Generals who had apprentices were crazy. Anyone would be driven insane from having to teach. The swordsman plonked himself down rather gracelessly at the teachers table and let out a sigh. Thankfully, Umbridge had chosen to sit at the other side of the table that day, preferring to 'chat' with Madam Hooch instead. It was a small blessing, Kanda could not bear another idiot today. Speaking of idiots and brats….

The young Defense Professor sat bolt upright in his chair. He had not given Allen the password to his rooms. He hadn't needed to at first because Allen was by his side most of the time. It was dinner time! Why hadn't the brat come to him asking for dinner? Kanda's eyes roamed the Great Hall full of chattering students. Allen wasn't at his house table, definitely not at Gryffindor, not at Ravenclaw and not at Hufflepuff.

Surely the brat couldn't have gotten lost? Kanda had taught him the 'Point me' spell! A bubble of panic forced its way up Kanda's insides. Allen! Where was he? He pushed away from the table, chair clattering to the floor as he swept out of the Great Hall and back to his room.

Allen, where could he be? The general might know how to get to the kitchen but he didn't know how to get in. The boy might be lost somewhere in the castle! Or after seeing the extent of the house rivalries, Kanda realized with growing horror, hanging upside down or unconscious as a result of a malicious prank.

_Lord! Point me to Allen!_ Kanda prayed in his heart. Wait, point me! The swordsman hit his forehead with his palm. He was an idiot. This proved his theory that it was possible to absorb idiocy through diffusion. He quickly pulled out his wand and muttered the spell.

Hastening his footsteps, the young professor ran up the stairs, following the directions given. Left right, around the corner, down the hallway!

With dread in his heart, Kanda came to a stop outside the infirmary. No, Allen wasn't injured. He was just helping a friend here. Kanda told himself firmly. Allen was old enough to take care of himself. He would not get injured so easily. Right? Well, he swallowed the lump in his throat and pushed the door open.

"Is my idiot apprentice in here?" Kanda marveled at the way his voice still came out calm and controlled when his stomach was doing backflips. Madam Pomfrey tutted disapprovingly and nodded, pointing to the curtain at the far end.

"He had a rather nasty potions accident earlier today. I'm keeping him here overnight for observation." She said in a tone that clearly implied that she knew it was not an accident. Kanda inclined his head in a gesture of thanks then strode over to the white curtain, pushing it out of the way with one hand.

"Kffndff?" Allen exclaimed through a mouthful of what seemed to be noodles. Sitting beside him was a rather pretty young girl with light coloured hair and green eyes. She was feeding him from a bowl. Kanda looked down and saw why: Allen's hands were wrapped in thick bandages. It was almost impossible for him to use them.

Allen swallowed his mouthful with difficulty and smiled at the swordsman sheepishly. He lifted one hand and waved it. Kanda found himself walking over to side on the bed. With a tenderness that he didn't even know he possessed, he lifted the bandaged hand and inspected it. He raised his eyes to stare at Allen, silently asking if he was allowed to undo them. The white haired teen nodded and Kanda started to unwrap the white cloth slowly and carefully.

Blistered crimson skin came into sight as more and more of the cloth was removed. Soon, Kanda had uncovered the whole of Allen's right hand. The girl who was feeding him looked away, seeming a little disgusted. Surprisingly, Kanda did not feel white hot rage like he usually did. A cold calm anger washed over him.

"What happened? Who did this?" He asked. The apprentice merely shook his head. Kanda pressed down on the tender skin, causing his apprentice to yelp.

"Who." He demanded once again.

Once again, Allen shook his head. This time defiantly. Well, if he wanted it that way. Kanda huffed in exasperation. No matter, he would find out who and what then exact revenge even if Allen didn't want it. The swordsman blew gently on the tender skin and brushed the pad of his thumbs across the back of Allen's hand. Slowly and carefully, he rewrapped it.

"Give me the bowl." He said to the girl, all the while gazing steadily at Allen who was gaping at him. She complied readily, setting the bowl and fork in Kanda's hands.

"Thank you for taking care of my idiot apprentice, you may leave to get your own dinner now." The swordsman said, turning to give her a tight smile. The girl stood and walked out slowly as Kanda lifted the fork and began feeding Allen. She paused at the door to cast one last glance at the pair.

Not a word was exchanged as Allen dutifully chewed and swallowed the food that Kanda gave him. "I'm not hungry anymore." Allen admitted after Kanda set down the bowl. The swordsman gave him small smirk.

"Who are you and what have you done with the Beansprout?" He teased. He had the pleasure of watching Allen blush out of embarrassment. If Kanda had not been listening, he wouldn't have caught the soft whispered 'Thanks' that slipped from Allen's lips. The swordsman felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards in a genuine smile.

"The matron gave me a potion that made me feel halfway full when I first came in." The white haired boy looked down at his white covered hands. "She saw it."

Kanda stiffened. He could just imagine the avalanche of questions that would descend on either one of them regarding Allen's birthmark.

"But she didn't say anything yet."

Kanda merely nodded. The matron was probably bound to an oath of Confidentiality or something like that. It was something for which he was infinitely grateful. He got up slowly, quite reluctant to leave Allen alone in the infirmary. He wasn't quite sure if Allen has just gotten caught in the middle of the feud amongst the houses or if this was a malicious prank aimed purely at harming the young general. If it was the latter, who knew what would happen if they caught Allen alone in the dead of night?

"Professor, it's time to leave." Madam Pomfrey pushed the curtains aside to give the swordsman a pointed look. Allen snuggled down under the sheets as Kanda shifted to give the matron a brief glance. The swordsman patted down the sheets around Allen's knees.

"Sleep well, God bless." He whispered to Allen, bending down to press a hesitant, close mouthed kiss to the younger boy's head. If Madam Pomfrey or Allen were surprised by his actions, they didn't show it. Kanda turned abruptly and strode past the matron out the door. He had to prepare for tomorrow.

--

Allen slept fitfully that night, his skin itched terribly as it grew and knitted together again. His dreams were filled with visions of Akuma, laying waste to the school, the students and the level four from long ago, devastating the area for miles around. There was no one left but him. The akuma had killed everything except Allen.

With a sharp gasp, the boy sat up in his bed, covers flung to the side. Light was barely starting to creep up over the horizon. Yet the images of a certain dark haired man impaled upon debris, crushed in the rubble left him shaken. He knew it was illogical, since Kanda still had more than half his lotus to go.

The itching feeling was gone. Allen fumbled with his bandages and ripped them off, revealing smooth unblemished skin on his right and dark red scales on his left. The young General breathed a sigh of relief. Something alighted on his shoulder, causing him to startle slightly. A gentle nibble on his ear let him know that it was Timcampy, still under the disillusionment spell.

"Heh, hi Tim." Allen reached up to gently pet the golem. The golem rubbed its teeth over the scales of Allen's left hand, making small chuffing sounds. The young boy couldn't help but grin.

"Go, go spy on the other houses. Find out what the twins did." Allen shooed the golem away. The soft wing beats around his head let him know Tim was still there.

"Go on, I want to know if they are a threat."

The golem seemed to think for a while before zipping away and out the window. The young general watched the curtains flap gently in the night breeze. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend he was back in his rooms at Headquarters. He would train till dawn as usual, go downstairs and eat a hearty breakfast in the cafeteria while taunting Kanda. After that he might laze around for awhile outside or read in the library. Then, he would find Lavi or Kanda and spar with them until lunch. After lunch Allen would then have fellowship with the Finders and the other Exorcists and get to know them a little better. Maybe he could talk to Lenalee or pester Lavi some more about that eye patch.

But then again, Allen was too old to be pretending anything and definitely too old to be getting homesick. This wasn't the first time he had been away from Headquarters for ages. Hell, he never even spent much time in the old castle. Yet somehow, he felt as if he had grown up in it.

The white haired boy swung his legs out of the bed. A fresh set of clothes had been set out for him in the night it seemed. He picked them up but didn't bother changing, he could do that when he got back to the Slytherin dorm room anyway. Slinging the robe around his shoulders, he quickly and quietly set out in the direction of the dungeons.

It took a few tries with the 'Point Me' spell and a few wrong hallways but Allen managed to get down to the dungeons without much incident. That is, if he discounted the fact that Peeves blew wet raspberries at him and threatened to call a professor on him.

A whispered password later, Allen stood in the Slytherins common room. He looked around furtively, getting the feeling that he was being watched. He probably was, judging by the disapproving glares of some of the portraits. Allen apologized to them softly and politely, edging towards the stairs. Down the stairs, right turn at the corner and past the dark wood doors were the showers.

Careful not to expose his left arm, Allen ducked into the shower, dropping his towel and turned the shower on full blast, scalding hot.

A groan of contentment escaped his throat. Oh, that felt so good. He could feel the tension seeping out of his muscles and his worries flowing down the drain.

Little did he know that not far away, Kanda was doing almost the same in his own room. The swordsman was attempting to relax in a hot shower while trying to sort out the information in his mind. If the magic of Hogwarts was due solely to the existence of Innocence, would removing the Innocence equate removing magic from Hogwarts?

Kanda whined almost petulantly as he leaned his head against the cool shower tiles. His hair fell in thick strands around him. It was getting a little too long again, the young professor noted as he ran his fingers through it. Surprisingly, no one had tried to pull it yet. Maybe he should cut it. Trim it a little or something because it might get in the way during battle. Then again, he wasn't exactly supposed to cut his hair, dedicated to God and what not. Kanda growled in frustration and pressed both palms against the wall, closing his eyes and feeling the hot water drip off the end of his nose.

Why was everything so complicated? Kanda turned and leaned against the cool wall, staring at his blurred reflection in the wall tiles. Nothing had ever been simple. Sighing, the swordsman turned off the shower and stepped out. The cool air made him shiver slightly. The dark haired man dressed quickly, heading off to the infirmary. He needed to check on Allen.

--

Allen leaned against the wall, feeling rather ill. After thoroughly exploring the top most floors of the castle, he had gone to ask for _some_ food from the elves in the kitchen. Their idea of _some_ turned out to be more a long the lines of enough to feed an army. He had totally forgotten that his watch didn't work here and had lost track of time only realizing mere minutes before class started that well, class was about to start.

The white haired teen had dashed back to his dorm, grabbed his books at top speed then raced off to find the Defence Classroom. This resulted in his breakfast threatening to exit via his mouth. Allen took several deep breaths and willed his stomach to be calm.

Steeling himself, Allen placed one hand against the door and pushed.

"Brat!"

Allen winced. Kanda looked absolutely furious. The Seventh year Gryffindor-Slytherin class looked very agitated. Many of them glared at him, shifting in their seats or tapping their quills against the table. Step by step, Allen moved into the classroom and placed his satchel on the floor. He turned and bowed his head.

"Sorry, I'm late, sir." He apologized in the meekest tone he could manage.

"Sit, copy." The swordsman said softly in a cool tone. He didn't look at Allen at all. Nonetheless, the boy did as he was told and took his seat, quickly took out his quill and parchment and dutifully jotting down the words on the blackboard in his neat cursive handwriting.

Kanda started to walk around the classroom, lecturing about the proper wand movement and the importance of keeping fit in war times. Here, he bopped several larger sized students on the head with the hilt of his sword and remarked on how spells couldn't remedy fat. Several other students giggled at that but silenced when Kanda glared at them.

"There is no need for discussion here." Kanda said coldly, a soft zinging sound made everyone aware that Kanda had flicked his sword out partway. All heads turned to their parchment and textbooks hastily.

--

Relief couldn't begin to describe what Kanda felt when his wayward 'apprentice' stepped through the classroom door. The panic that had threatened to break his tight control since early morning snuffed out like a candle in the wind. He had been terrified when he had arrived at the hospital wing only to find out that Allen was gone. A million scenarios raced through his mind, Allen being exorcist-napped, other students poisoning Allen's food and hiding the body in the forest, Akuma taking the brat out while he slept! Or even worse, Kanda thought with growing horror as he realized the positions of the bed and the window, Allen might have walked out the window because it was in about the same place his door would be back at Headquarters! Yet the swordsman had forced himself to step out of the room calmly, assuring himself that no harm would come to the brat. Honestly! Kanda berated himself, he was behaving like an overprotective mother! He was worrying needlessly over small things. Temporarily misplacing his apprentice was called a small thing right? After all, Allen would come back when he was hungry, just like a puppy. Yeah, Allen would turn up. He better turn up, Kanda thought with a dark expression, and he better have a good explanation for disappearing so early in the morning.

By breakfast, Kanda was twitching uncontrollably in his seat. This was partly because Umbridge had decided to grace him with her presence and remark on his 'unique' teaching techniques and partly because Allen hadn't shown up at his rooms or at the Great Hall for food.

Even his class had caught on to his agitation and they reflected it by squirming in their seats as they waited for the last person to arrive.

Allen, the sight of white hair, pale skin ensconced by the dark school robes flooded Kanda with relief. The relief gave way to anger. Why on earth wasn't he informed? The young professor snarled inwardly. No matter what Allen did, Kanda was supposed to know. That way, Kanda could… Kanda could….

Could what? Allen was not his apprentice in the truest sense. Allen had no obligation to him. Allen was old enough to care for himself. Allen who outranked him in exorcist terms, deferred to him for the good of the mission. Kanda swallowed painfully. No, he had no right to be angry at Allen. This was their mission, _their_ mission. It did not belong to Kanda exclusively. They had to work together to accomplish their objective and not merely compare results of their individual research. The swordsman hated to admit it but he had been trying to control everything from the second Allen had arrived. No, he had to loosen up and accept that Allen was an independent person, an equal, completely capable of taking down a hundred Akuma on his own, settling his own grudges and finding his own meals.

Kanda clamped down on his anger, instructing the boy to take his seat and start copying.The young professor watched as the students struggled to memorize what he had given them in 15 minutes. The 15 minute theory cramming session would be followed by a ten minute short quiz on what they just learned. Correction to be done five times for each question they answered wrongly and passed up in the next class. Repeat for each spell until they could recite its pronunciation, effects, uses, countermeasures and what not in their sleep. It had proven effective for Kanda, he saw no reason it wouldn't be effective for them.

Here, he Kanda paused behind Allen to look at a rather large sized student. He briefly contemplated giving a few extra lessons to help keep the students in shape. Maybe he could even get Umbridge to join the class, goodness knows that she definitely needed a good workout. He settled for lecturing them on it for the time being, action would be taken later if they still remained fat. Honestly! No war was ever won with fat warriors! Except maybe, a fat war… Kanda shook his head to clear it. Goodness! Where were these thoughts coming from!

"Times up!" He declared, pointing his wand at the blackboard and somehow managed to erase everything on his first try. His wand shot a couple of sparks after that, a little like an engine that sputtered and died. This earned a few snickers from the class but Kanda ignored them, walking past Allen with barely a glance to the white haired boy.

Their mission, Kanda reminded himself once again as he picked up the chalk to write on the board. He refused to let himself stay angry at Allen. Surprisingly, this decision made him feel much better about everything.

--

"I'm sorry."

"Leave the room, brat."

"What do you want? I said I'm sorry!"

"You're going to be late for your next class."

Hermione halted in her steps causing Ron and Harry to bump into her none too gently. Their sounds of protests and indignation were promptly shushed with a pointed glare.

"Please, Kanda… I'm really sorry I left without telling you."

"It doesn't matter! Now go!"

"Kanda… Please. It won't happen again!"

"There's nothing for which you should apologize."

There was a brief silence during which Ron and Harry glared at Hermione. The witch glared back and gestured to the classroom, indicating that she wanted to listen to the ongoing conversation.

".. . Really?" Allen's tone was one of disbelief and wonder.

"I hope you're not hurting after last night." Kanda replied gruffly, sounding quite reluctant to ask.

"Oh, I'm completely fine. That was nothing, you've put me through worse remember?"

Another silence then a soft snort on Kanda's part.

"And I will put you through worse. Now get out of my sight." The defense Professor snapped. Hermione quickly grabbed Harry and Ron's hands, dragging them further down the hallway then forcing them to walk at a normal pace as if they had been passing by.

The door of the classroom clicked open and Allen stumbled out. None of the trio saw the huge grin on his face as he adjusted the strap on his shoulder and headed the opposite way to Care of Magical Creatures.

He had been stunned that Kanda had let it go so easily. At first, the boy had thought that Kanda was furious because Allen had pulled a Houdini in the middle of the night when he was still supposedly injured. Yet the older male didn't seem to think much of it. Kanda even teased him! In a roundabout, gruff and standoffish way but it was teasing nonetheless. The white haired boy hummed a little tune to himself, not realizing that he was actually going the right way.

--

The day seemed to slip out of his fingers. Kanda hated this feeling. It felt as if he wasn't in control of anything. He woke at four or four thirty, had private training till breakfast, then he taught until Lunch, had Lunch, taught until Dinner, had Dinner then marked essays or quizzes till he went to bed. The few free periods in between were haven for the poor swordsman. He was beginning to develop a newfound appreciation for those in the teaching profession. So many young lives in their hands, how on earth could they withstand the pressure?

In fact, he chose to skip dinner today preferring to stay in his room and agonize over whether the spelling mistakes should be penalized or not. The swordsman sighed and massaged his temples, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. Swiftly and mercilessly, he deducted 10 points off the quiz of one Romilda Vance and wrote a note for her to copy the correct answers five times. It was almost as if these students had never been properly educated at all!

The words were blurring into lines in front of him. He felt completely drained, as if he had done a million things yet accomplished nothing. A grown slipped past his lips as he remembered the pile of books that he had checked out of the library, intending to research all the strange incidents that had happened in the school.

A knock on his door made the swordsman lift his head and glare at it. He had no intention of attending to anyone right now. He remained quiet, not wanting to reply, hoping that whoever was out there would just leave.

"Professor Kanda!"

No such luck.

"Enter." Kanda snapped, turning his attention back to his work. Here, he penned several choice remarks on another essay, thanking the lord that at least his own apprentice had neat writing.

The door swung open slowly a student poked his head in, looking rather nervous. Kanda just raised an eyebrow. Whatever the boy had to say, it couldn't get any worse.

"Um… Professor Snape assigned me detention with you, sir…"

Akuma on a stick, Kanda gaped in horror. It just did.

--

It had been a tiring day. Allen was sprawled in one of the armchairs in the common room, trying to finish his Potions essay about how he was going to prevent cauldrons from exploding in the future.

After thinking it through quite thoroughly, he decided to work under the assumption that Professor Snape knew that his potion had been tampered with and borrowed several books from the library.

He ended up with a stack of potions books on his right and an assortment of protection spells and wards on his left, cross-referencing which could be used with what kind of potion to prevent tampering from third parties.

The more the General researched, the more variables he found. Not only did he need to take into account the chemical make up of each ingredient alone, he had to add in the factor of ingredients reacting with each other in addition to the spell. Besides that, different people who had different kinds of magic might not be able to cast the same spells or use the same wards. Then he had to take into consideration that the difference in pressure, temperature and overall brewing condition of the potion and whether how long it took to brew.

All in all, this led to a completely exhausted Allen who was trying to figure out whether the gender of the brewer really had anything to do with anything else. He scratched the back of his left hand absentmindedly, rubbing the scaly skin under the soft fabric of the gloves. Maybe he should just sleep on it, he thought, his mind would be clearer in the morning after a goodnights rest.

A thought struck him and the white haired teen suddenly realized the absurdity of it all. He, was a high ranking officer in the Black Order, under cover in a school looking for Innocence. Yet how much looking had he done lately? The answer was nil. Nothing. Nada. He hadn't really thought about it that much, just trying to get settled down in his new routine.

Well, he better get started. With that thought in mind, the young General stretched languidly and yawned. He draped himself over the side of his armchair to look at Canes who was studiously drawing a diagram of one of the plants he was studying in Herbology.

"I had no idea school would be this tough." Allen remarked casually. "My master never tested me like this or made me memorize anything. He just sort of taught me on the go as we travelled." He said, toying with a small tuft of hair on Canes head that stood up. _Ask me a question! _Allen urged in his heart, he could use their curiosity to find out what was normal and what was not.

Canes looked up at the white haired teen, setting his quill and parchment down as he did so. The blonde boy shifted into a more comfortable position.

"What was it like anyway, Walker? You must not have had a home if you were always travelling." Canes replied, swatting Allen's hand away.

"It was tiring but carefree. Did you know? I never had more than four shirts and any given time!" Allen laughed and plucked at his uniform. "It was too bothersome to carry around." He shifted so that his head was lying over the arm of the chair, staring at the room upside down.

"Did you not use magic to help? I know a dozen spells that would make travelling so much easier." Canes stared in wonder when Allen shook his head with a smile. The seventh year beckoned to Pansy and Irving who were chatting away in the corner.

"Can you believe it? Walker didn't use magic when he was travelling!" Canes laughed out loud, a light baritone that was pleasant to hear. Irving and Pansy looked to Allen in surprise.

"Honestly? Not even one bit of magic?" Pansy pressed. The white haired teen shrugged as he shifted once again to get up.

"We did use magic, I guess but not this kind." Allen wiggled his nose at the books and parchment in his arms as he moved them to the side. His schoolmates chuckled a little at his expression. When he returned from putting away the things, he found a small group of Slytherins – most of them from the younger years - waiting to hear his story.

"Are there really people after your blood?" one of the first years asked, wide-eyed. Allen laughed.

"I supposed you could say that. My father was part of an organization. He betrayed them, passing down several important secrets to me. But it's nothing too serious." The general said this all with a straight face, trying hard not to think about the Noahs after his blood and his late father figure. Not to say what he said was a lie, it just wasn't the complete truth.

"I've seen dolls brought to life which can sing and dance for hundreds of years! A town that was stuck in the same day for months! Bells that could wreck cities with their sounds!" Allen decided to get more into his story, eliminating the part about all those things being attributed to Innocence. His audience had differing expressions of awe and disbelief.

"And there was once," The young General let his voice drop to a whisper "I met a man who could pass through anything even though he wasn't a ghost or a spirit."

"Singing and dancing for years?" Irving scoffed. "The sheer amount of power needed to be able to do that would require no less than twenty average wizards renewing the spells every fortnight." She turned away, nose in the air and clearly not believing what Allen was saying.

"I've never heard of such powerful widespread magic." Montague rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Bells you say?" He looked rather dubious at the thought. "No, it's impossible for magic to reach that scale unless wards were in the equation." He too turned away, not concerning himself further with Allen's tale.

The young man shrugged, smirking to himself. Well at least now he knew that wand magic users could not cast spells on a large scale without the help of wards and probably runes. A glitter of wings caught his eye when the portrait door opened o admit one of the third years.

Timcampy! Allen scrambled to his feet, snagged the golem that was blinking in and out of sight then raced down the stairs to his dorm. Thank God no one had seen!

--

When Professor McGonagall stepped out of her office that evening, she was quite surprised to see one very pleased looking Severus Snape sweep down the corridor in his long black robes.

"Severus! Is that a smile I see?" The Irish witch hailed the potions master with a smile of her own. The dour man turned with just the hint of a smirk on his lips. Professor McGonagall raised one eyebrow. It wasn't everyday that she had the chance to see her colleague look so carefree.

"And did you not assign detention to Peter Darkelly from Gryffindor this afternoon?" She continued. It was no secret that the young boy was quite a pain to care for because of his forgetfulness and irresponsibility. She knew that Peter had blown up ten cauldrons in his first week alone and that Snape had assigned no less than twice the amount of detentions for his carelessness.

"Oh, I instructed Mr. Darkelly to have his detention with Professor Kanda."

The last word was spoken in a sneer and a chortle. Professor McGonagall had to hide an inappropriate smile because honestly? As a Deputy Headmistress, it was her duty to make sure the staff didn't do such petty and frivolous things to each other. Nevertheless, if Professor Kanda could subdue and teach the more rambunctious students easily, Minerva would dearly love to see what Peter would learn in a one on one session with the foreign man.

"For the record, I disapprove." She said as primly as she could without laughing then turned to walk in the other direction.

--

"Professor! Should I deduct marks for misspellings in the sentences?"

Kanda replied in the negative as he read through a first year essay and made more scathing remarks on the parchment. He looked approvingly over at Peter who had already made his way through half the stack of quizzes.

"You're doing quite well Mr. Darkelly." The young Defense professor said in a quite amicable way. Having an assistant to help him proved to be quite a good idea. He had originally intended for Peter to write lines but instead set him to the task of attempting to read hastily scribbled answers and marking them.

"You may leave when you're finished with that stack." Kanda added when Peter beamed at him. The boy was woefully eager to please yet forgetful. But the swordsman had to give him an A for effort. Peter could do anything he put his mind to, provided he didn't forget how to do it.

The thought of assigning detentions to students to get them to help out with marking papers briefly crossed Kanda's mind.

He couldn't, could he? The Japanese man looked over at the rest of the papers he had to grade, then to Peter who was working away diligently.

Well, maybe once in a while.

--

_Things you should know_

_1. I placed 5__th__ in class_

_2. M'sia lost the finals in badminton_


	5. Chapter 5

5

I'm awed by the amount of reviews my 4 chapter story has gotten so far. I appreciate the encouragement. I was about to post this chapter when I realized that it was in font 12. Nope. I write 10 pages of font 10 each time so I had to write more.

--

* * *

"Why are we walking in the dark?" Allen whispered to Kanda. The soft rustling let Allen know that his companion had shifted to the side, presumably to take a look around. There was silence for what seemed like an eternity before the swordsman shifted again.

"It encourages people to be quiet and more alert." Kanda replied in a rather succinct manner. The white haired boy gave a soft 'oh' and continued following the swordsman in front of him. They were on their way to the darker parts of the dungeons in the dead of night, following a lead in one of the books about the Chamber of Secrets which was supposed to belong to one Salazar Slytherin. Of course, they had no idea where it was but Allen reasoned that since the Slytherins roomed in the dungeons, it was possible that the Chamber was nearby. Kanda didn't like the idea of searching in the dungeons especially when they weren't even sure what the Chamber looked like. But as the younger male said, you never know until you try. Allen regretted suggesting it in the first place since right now in the dark, he had to admit it was a stupid idea to come down here without even knowing what kind of chamber they were looking for. Besides, if it was hidden, it would be very hard to find otherwise, it wouldn't be called a hidden Chamber.

So far, besides the eerie silence, the two exorcists had found two couples making out in different locations of the dungeons; one in a broom cupboard and one behind a rather grotesque statue. Though, Kanda had remarked, the sight of the statue alone should been enough to put someone off. Allen immediately saw fit to remind his colleague of General Cross Marian. Kanda conceded the point.

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing at all. Allen was thankful that the next day was a Saturday. He could sleep in as long as he liked and not worry about getting up in time for classes. In front of him, Kanda stopped abruptly. It was the soft scuff of boot against stone that alerted Allen to this little fact and prevented him from running into the taller man. The white haired general stopped behind Kanda, listening carefully. He could hear Kanda's soft controlled breathing, his own soft breaths and another flapping sound which was probably Timcampy or Kanda's own golem which they had also taken to Disillusioning for concealment purposes.

A soft meow to his left. Mrs. Norris? Or was it Miss Norris? Allen couldn't remember the name of the cat. The feline took no notice of the two of them, giving them a passing glare then padding off deeper into the castle. The white haired exorcist furrowed his brow. According to the other students, the cat was notorious for alerting her beloved master to any rule breakers late at night. Allen found it odd that she didn't run off to find the caretaker. Could it be because he was with Kanda? Maybe the presence of a professor allowed students to run rampant! Allen filed that bit of information away in his mind in case he wanted to sneak out one night.

The parasite exorcist patted Kanda's shoulder gently, wondering why the Japanese man had stopped. His response was to shrug lightly and gently touch Allen's wrist to indicate that they were to follow the cat. Allen shrugged, not seeing the point but feeling it was pointless to argue.

Step, step, step, the white haired general sighed and started counting the number of steps he took. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long and fruitless search. Allen made up his mind, he would definitely grab a snack from the kitchen before heading back to his dorm.

* * *

"Allen? Wake up!"

The entire Slytherin table roared with laughter, drawing disgusted stares from the rest of the students present as Pansy tried to shake the white haired boy awake. They had dragged him out of bed to have breakfast together because they never did see him at mealtimes. Almost the entire Slytherin house was curious to know where Allen went and how Allen received his sustenance if he never ate at meal times. As of now, Allen resembled a walking zombie. He had walked to the great hall eyes closed, led by Irving. Then at the table, he folded his arms and promptly went back to sleep.

"Aren't you going to eat? The pumpkin jam is wonderful." One fourth year exclaimed from further down the table. Allen's response was to lift his hand and wave blearily, too intent on sleeping to care about his tummy. After all, he did have a midnight to early morning snack.

"Where were you last night?" Draco drawled, leaning on his elbows as he bit a piece out of the muffin he was eating. Even the naughtiest and most wayward of Slytherins knew to be back early enough to get rest. No sensible person went out for a night long romp in the castle. The white haired boy made a noise of discontent.

"Wiffprofkanda" was the muffled reply. Allen went back to sleep almost immediately.

The Slytherins looked at each other. He didn't just… did he? A late night excursion with Professor Kanda? Oh the implications! But then again, the Slytherins knew better. If there really was a romantic relationship between Allen and the professor, surely the other teachers and Professor Dumbledore would know about it. Given the kind of person Professor Kanda seemed to be, it was highly unlikely there would be something going on. Collectively and almost like a hive mind, they dismissed the notion.

"Even if the professor is your master, he should not keep you out so late." Montague said disapprovingly, making a note to ask Professor Snape about whether the curfew applied to Allen or not. Said boy made no reply because he was asleep. They promptly shook him awake again.

"DungeonsNorriscoplescrewin" Allen mumbled to pacify his schoolmates.

"Did you just say… that you were in the dungeons with Mrs. Norris and Professor Kanda, watching couples screwing?" Jones, a fourth year asked doubtfully. The question was greeted with muffled snorts of laughter, several exclamations of "Honestly!" "Does he ever think before he talks?" and amused smiles.

"Mffth" Was the disgruntled reply as the boy under interrogation tried to burrow his forehead into his forearms.

"Or did you say you were couples in the dungeons screwing Professor Kanda?" Blaise couldn't help but tease the older boy. The white haired boy lifted his head slowly, granting them the pleasure of seeing one of the most charming yet simultaneously most disconcerting smiles. Allen brushed the hair out of his face and cocked his head to one side cutely, blinking his honey eyes slowly.

"Oh I had great fun last night! I had sex with Professor Kanda six times. At first he took me in his rooms and we made sweet, sweet love. Then we went in to the corridors and had sex again there. Afterwards we went exploring in the dungeons and found Mrs. Norris. I don't like cats her so we had sex right there and then just to spite her. Later, we came across two couples making out so we chased them away and proceeded to do the same. We did it again on the way back to his rooms and we jumped in the shower for one last session before going to bed."

The entire table was silent as they looked at the white haired boy in disbelief. He had just admitted to going to bed with his own master. He had also done so at a very audible level which caused even the normally calm Ravenclaws to look up in alarm and horror. He had done so regardless of the fact that he himself was underage and might cause his master to be arrested for pedophilia. Allen's smile grew wider. This did nothing to quell the rising fear in his schoolmates. If anything, they felt a chill go down their spines.

"And if you all believe all that, you are all idiots. Now let me sleep." He said, smile still in place. No one dared say anything when the transfer student yawned then lay his head back down on his arms, dozing off immediately.

"Let us not incite a repeat of that." Canes remarked. His schoolmates nodded in assent.

--

* * *

"Professor Kanda."

The man in question looked up from his breakfast, cocking an eyebrow as he gazed inquiringly at Professor McGonagall. He had just come down to eat, having overslept in the morning due to lack of sleep. It was later than he liked but he knew that he needed to rest whether he liked it or not. Could something have had happened so early in the morning? The stern witch hesitated, arms folded primly in front of her. Kanda looked on as she adjusted her skirt and prepared herself to speak what was on her mind.

"What is it?" The swordsman decided to ask first. The Irish with gave him a hooded look.

"I was passed a group of Hufflepuffs on my way down and I happened to hear a rumour." She stated in a delicate way. "I normally don't pay attention to rumours but when it involves a professor and a student, it is my duty to investigate _immediately _and clear up all misunderstandings..." She let the sentence trail, her line of sight shifting to the Slytherin table.

Kanda raised the other eyebrow, not understanding what she was getting at. He looked over to the table in question and saw that Allen was sitting there, asleep but sitting there all the same. He frowned. The brat should be in bed resting. After all, Allen was still a teenager and needed more sleep. Especially after last night. In hindsight, it hadn't been all that great an idea to go gallivanting around the castle in the dark of night. Here, Professor Sprout hurriedly excused herself from the table, dragging a laughing Madam Hooch with her. The swordsman gave them quizzical looks, not understanding what the whole hullabaloo was about.

"I, catch no ball." The Japanese teacher replied in his monotone to signify that he didn't understand. The Deputy Headmistress looked mildly put off for a fraction of a second before clearing her throat.

"To put it bluntly," She pulled out the unoccupied chair beside Kanda and sat down primly.

"I'm asking you if you are fornicating with your apprentice."

Kanda's brow furrowed as he mulled the words over in his mind. Maybe someone had started a rumour about him and Allen. Though what about and why, he wasn't sure.

"What does fornicate mean?" he asked curiously, picking up his cup to take a sip.

"Did you have sex with Allen?" Professor McGonagall asked impatiently, a blush forming on her cheeks.

It took all of the swordsman's self control to swallow his tea properly and set down his cup. He turned to glare at Allen but it was highly ineffective because Allen was not properly conscious to feel the effects of the glare. Nevertheless, he gave Professor McGonagall an insulted look.

"Certainly not." He replied, picking up his sword as he got up. He had lost his appetite completely. With several long strides, he crossed the distance between the tables and yanked his apprentice up by the arm.

"Get up, Moyashi!" Kanda said in a tone that booked no argument. No argument if you were anyone else than Allen of course. The white haired exorcist merely raised his head and graced Kanda with a beautiful smile.

Kanda let go of the arm in his hand like he had been scalded and backed away ever so slightly, suddenly feeling very aware of the fact that Allen outranked him and could easily take him down in a one on one no weapons battle. He hated sweet things. May the lord forgive him but he did and Allen's sweet smile was no different. It didn't just repulse him, it also made him feel sick to the stomach. The Japanese man felt a shiver go down his spine as he remembered several scenarios where he had come across Allen, smiling that exact same smile as he decimated the attacking Akuma. That exact same smile when he laid their souls to rest or cheated at cards.

"I. Am. Tired." Allen stated, smile still in place. The swordsman cleared his throat without missing a beat and glared.

"Go to my rooms and stay there until you've recovered!" Kanda barked. Goodness, he hoped that no one noticed his slight falter. That slip might cost him his reputation. But it seemed that all was as normal as it could be when the General stood up, yawned and allowed himself to be led off in the direction of the Defense Professors rooms.

"I think it would be best," Draco said diplomatically as the Slytherin table watched the master and apprentice leave, "If we just all forget that we ever had this morning's conversation, and treated them both as we did before: mild respect for Allen, grudging respect and resentment toward the Professor."

He received mumbled affirmatives and silent nods in response.

* * *

It was properly twelve and beyond when Allen woke feeling refreshed. His hands still twinged slightly when he gripped the covers and peeled them off. It was a phantom reminder of the incident a week ago. So far he had stayed true to his declarations, and kept well out of the feud between houses, even going out of his way to help students in need even if they were from other houses. The white haired General looked around the room as he rubbed his eye. He was quite amused to see his colleague slumped over a stack of papers, ink staining the slender calloused fingers as he slept. The white haired teen swung his legs out of bed and got up.

Kanda had always put one hundred percent of his effort into whatever he was doing. That was something that Allen admired about the older male. No matter how difficult, or absurd, Kanda would try his best. Becoming a passable teacher in something completely foreign to him within three months was testimony to that.

The parasite exorcist gently shifted his colleague and managed to maneuver him into a position where he could be lifted easily. Then, the younger boy tightened his grip and lifted the swordsman up and onto the bed. Grabbing some tissues from the toilet, he gently cleaned the ink stains from Kanda's fingers. After that was done, Allen also took the liberty of loosening Kanda's hair from his hair tie and spread it out around Kanda's head in order to let Kanda's scalp breathe. The white haired boy pulled the covers up and laid them over his companion gently. The swordsman only stirred when Allen brushed his left hand across his cheek, taking in the almost peaceful visage of the sleeping man.

Hmm, Allen thought in some semblance of contentment. He rather enjoyed this. Without the bickering and the fighting, well not like that they had much time to fight, it was surprisingly quite pleasant to be in Kanda's company. Allen missed Lavi's endless chatter and Lenalee's sweet comments but after a long day in school, Kanda's stoic silence was oddly comforting and welcome. He watched the swordsman's chest rise and fall evenly then turned to the stack of papers Kanda was in the midst of marking.

"An apprentice always helps his master." Allen remarked to himself with a satisfied smile then chuckled, deciding to get into the role of an apprentice. He picked up the quill and dipped it into the red ink. He took a furtive glance at Kanda's handwriting and placed the quill's tip against the parchment. Carefully and in an impressive imitation of his colleague's handwriting, Allen penned out a scathing comment on the parchment.

_Your deplorable handwriting renders your essay unreadable, please make an effort to write properly or I will assign detentions._ There, that was something Kanda would write. Allen moved on to the next one, his eyes skimming the essay.

Dear God in heaven what was this? The white haired exorcist looked over at the sleeping form of the Japanese swordsman. If this was what Kanda put up with everyday, Allen couldn't blame the man for being irritated. Hell, he even understood how the other felt. How on earth did the man deal with these? The numerous misspellings gave Allen a headache and the poorly spaced paragraphs made his head spin.

Sighing, Allen turned back to the parchment and continued reading.

--

* * *

The Gryffindor common room was awash with whispers and gossip like always in the evenings. Even the usually passive and patient Neville was putting in his two cents.

"There is no way that Allen would date the Professor." He declared, referring to the incident that very morning "Walker is too nice!"

There was much debate going on about Allen Walker, the not-so-new transfer student. The younger girls adored him, the older girls liked him and most of the boys respected him even if it was a reluctant form of respect.

Allen, or 'The sweetest boy ever to be sorted into Slytherin', was for a lack of better word, interesting. He had openly declared that the Gryffindor-Slytherin feud had nothing to do with him so he was going to stay out of it. He didn't think twice about helping first years from other houses who got caught in trick steps or were being bullied by Peeves. The white haired teen never showed up at meal times but appeared to be completely healthy. The fact that he loudly announced that he was sleeping with his Professor that morning just made things even more interesting.

"He might not be willing." Lavender shot back at Neville. Neville looked away in a pointed manner, refusing to accept that it might actually be true. Nobody noticed the portrait hole open and close.

"But right after, he told them that they were all idiots if they believed him." Angela said doubtfully.

"Ah, but then-"

"He could be-"

"Just saying that-"

"So we won't-"

"Think it's true!" The twins chorused with mischievous grins.

Several expressions flitted over the faces of the gossipers. Some looked horrified, others looked disgusted and some just gaped at the implications of the two newcomers actually having a relationship.

"That's ridiculous."

A strangled silence fell over the common room. Some of the first years and second years scrambled to their dorms to get away from the Defense Professor who stood at the entrance.

The tall young man withdrew an impressive peacock feather quill from his robes and handed it to Peter. The boy exclaimed happily at the sight of his quill, having misplaced it yesterday. He looked up at the Japanese man but Kanda offered no explanation as to where he found it.

The dark haired professor adjusted the sword by his side through the fabric of his robes, letting his eyes sweep across the room. He stopped when they landed on Fred and George. They grinned back at him a little nervously but received an arched eyebrow in reply. No one thought it was possible but the tense silence became almost suffocating. There wasn't a student in Gryffindor that didn't know that the twins had been responsible for putting Allen in the infirmary earlier on. In the mere seconds that Professor Kanda locked gazes with the twins, everyone realized that he knew it was them. With bated breath, everyone waited to see what would the Japanese man do. Would he issue detentions? Would he warn them off? Would he whip out his wand and curse them? Or would he pull out his sword and exact revenge on his apprentice's behalf?

"Che," The single syllable slipped past thin lips. The professor just turned and walked to the portrait hole. He paused with one leg out of the doorway.

"Stay out of my personal life." With that, he was gone.

--

* * *

"Any news from the two?" Lenalee asked her brother impatiently. It wasn't uncommon to have exorcists completely cut themselves off from Headquarters during a mission. In fact, it happened more often than not with the two currently in question. Kanda would never call back unless the situation demanded it or the mission was severely compromised. Allen on the other hand would be too focused on completing his work to even _think _about calling back. Even then, Lenalee couldn't help but worry. It was utterly and completely silly to worry about a General and an uptight, skilled swordsman and yet she did.

Komui only shook his head as he continued to work on his inventions. The dark haired girl sighed and fiddled with the edge of her skirt, looking out at the window. The dark sky reflected her gloomy mood.

She had seen them off to Germany, Australia, China, Indonesia and every imaginable part of the world on missions. Some of them lasting a few days, some a few weeks and some up to several months. She had never been edgy back then. Maybe it was the knowledge that they had to be extra careful to conceal their identity, or maybe it was the fact that they were going to a place caught in another war, one that wasn't theirs to fight.

Lenalee shuddered. She had seen the files. The gruesome way the people had been murdered could rival the Akuma she had faced. At least most Akuma didn't toy around with people. They murdered simply because they were programmed to do so, not out of the maliciousness of their non-existent hearts. Her imagination had no problems substituting her beloved comrades into the places of the casualties of the magical world and it unnerved her to no end. Her mind's eye saw Allen dead, hanging upside down entrails hanging from his body while Kanda would be crushed to bits so small, he couldn't regenerate.

The Chinese young lady shuddered and turned her thoughts to more happy matters, like how the two were getting along. Even if the pair in question had disliked each other from the beginning, there was no denying that they actually got along much better than 3 years ago.

For one thing, Kanda actually used Allen's name one or twice a week instead of calling the younger boy a beansprout twenty four seven. Allen was also less prone to getting ticked off by the swordsman's callous comments. Overall this meant a general decrease in the number of physical fights and verbal disagreements. Dislike set aside, the two exorcists actually made a very good team even if they refused to admit it. Lenalee sighed and rested her chin on her hand as the rain started to fall.

She hoped with all her heart that they would be alright.

--

* * *

"Athishoo!"

"Achoo!"

Both master and apprentice sneezed simultaneously. Both grimaced when they realized that they had gotten bodily fluids all over the hand they used to cover their mouths. Allen fished inside his robes for a hanky while Kanda just conjured a tissue.

"Bless you." Kanda said gruffly to Allen and Allen muttered the same back. The older male turned back to the book he was reading, attempting to determine if there were any hidden rooms around or in Hogwarts.

Allen continued trying to figure out how to perform the Vanishing charm properly. Silence reigned for a brief moment.

"Did you honestly tell everyone we were having sex?"

The white haired exorcist blinked at the question. He vaguely recalled letting his mouth run away with him during breakfast. But that was only because he was so tired and was willing to do anything just to get some peace. He turned to look at Kanda and smiled sheepishly.

"I think I did." He said cautiously. Kanda's response was to whip out Mugen and bonk Allen on the head with the hilt. If looks could kill, Allen would have been chatting with St Peter at the gates right now. He gulped.

"You idiot! Now they're going to be breathing down our necks!" Kanda hollered, completely forgetting about privacy.

"How on earth are we going to -"

Allen grabbed the black golem which was flitting around and stuffed it into Kanda's mouth. The swordsman stumbled backwards, too surprised to do anything but glare at his colleague. Allen glared right back, unfazed. He discreetly gestured to Kanda's wand and to the room.

The swordsman caught on fairly quickly, setting up charms and wards to prevent eavesdropping. After he was done, he resumed his death glare.

"Why is it that you thought it was a good idea to tell everyone that we are having sex?" Kanda demanded, eyes flashing in frustration and suppressed anger.

Allen gave him a helpless shrug.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." He replied. Kanda let out a groan, bringing his hand up to massage his temples.

"I am twenty years old!" The Japanese man snarled at his colleague. "You're seventeen! How on earth did making me out to be a pedophile seem like a good idea?" The swordsman reached out and grabbed the front of Allen's robes.

The white haired exorcist glared back. It wasn't his fault that he was so tired that he was willing to do anything to get some sleep! If Kanda hadn't dragged him down into the dungeons for the better part of the night, this wouldn't have happened!

"Old enough to kill, old enough to have sex." Allen shot back. "I rank higher than you, if anything I would be blamed for taking advantage of an apprentice!" He snarled, using his superior strength to pry Kanda's hand off his robes and hold it in a crushing grip. If it hurt the other man, he didn't show it.

"That's irrelevant! In this country I'm older! I'm responsible for you!" Kanda shouted. Allen glared back. This was ridiculous! Exorcists who were more able would be put in charge regardless of age! Kanda had never shouldered responsibility for anyone other than himself, the bastard was always a loner!

"I'm more synchronized with my Innocence, I'm supposed to protect you!" The white haired boy shot back. The swordsman growled low in his throat.

"That means nothing! The Noah managed to take it from you once!" A low blow! That was a one time thing back when Allen was still a naive fifteen year old! Couldn't the other tell that he was more mature now?

"Oh like you were never defeated by one of them?" Allen smirked, knowing that Kanda was recalling Skin Boric and the Level 4.

"At least I didn't lose my left arm or _die_." Kanda shot back, baring his teeth. Allen tensed and pushed roughly, sending Kanda into the wall none too gently.

"Now you're just being childish! The only reason you survived is because of your lotus and me reconstructing the ark!"

"Naïve brat! You never think about what you say!"

"You're such a stuck up bastard! I was just tired!"

"Foolish child! We're in the middle of war here! Your every action has a consequence!"

"Well did you think about the consequences of you being a violent, aggressive, murderous control freak?!"

"Well at least I didn't kill my parent!"

Kanda had stepped too far on that one. He knew it as soon as it slipped out of his mouth. Tense silence followed the callous remark. Stiffly, Allen turned and walked out the room. Kanda heard the portrait door open and close. Guilt bubbled up in his heart, making it ache. Still, he hardened his resolve. He wouldn't feel guilty. Allen deserved it! The brat needed to learn to think things through before he spoke! Kanda wouldn't feel guilty for dishing the boy a cold dose of reality, he wouldn't!

But somehow, he still did.

--

* * *

"Up."

The broom jumped into his hand and Harry mounted it with ease. It was so easy to kick off and soar into the sky. The boy who lived circled once, twice around the pitch. He had gotten tired of all the gossiping going on in the common room right after dinner, so he had come down to clear his head. So far it was working really well. It just took some light warm up exercises and a few laps around the large field to get his blood pumping.

Now, he just floated lazily gazing at the stars blinking in the sky as he contemplated life. He felt trapped and out of the loop. In less than two weeks, he had over twelve squabbles with his two closest friends. Their relationship had grown distant and it worried the dark haired wizard. Ron was obsessed with Quidditch. Hermione was caught up in the mystery surrounding the new professor and his apprentice.

Apparently, she thought that the conversations they over heard were all rather suggestive. Harry thought it was a load of tosh. Didn't they know that Professor Kanda was religious? Ha, the man had a stick so far up his ass, he couldn't even bend over. Not that Professor Kanda would bend over of course.

A flash of gold caught his eyes and the so called saviour turned to look. He only saw the darkness of the trees but had the impression that he was being watched closely. Something fluttered near his ears and flitted away in the direction of the castle. Harry whipped his head around so fast he nearly got whiplash.

There was a tiny white haired figure on the pitch, glancing out towards the forest. Harry couldn't help himself, he swooped down out of curiosity and landed in front of the new transfer student. Allen started when he saw Harry approaching and hastily wiped his eyes.

"Oh hi, Mr. Potter! I didn't see you there." Allen said, his voice surprisingly steady despite the obvious fact that he had been crying. The dark haired boy hesitated. Part of him would always distrust Slytherins but then again, part of him felt as if he should at least exhibit a little bit of concern for the older boy. Allen was quite nice in and out of class anyway.

"What happened?" The fifteen year old asked hesitantly. Allen smiled beautifully and wiped his nose with a handkerchief.

"Oh, I just… I was just remembering my father figure." The white haired seventh year replied. Harry became aware of just how fake Allen was being right now. The innocent smile on the boy's face seemed so real that if Harry hadn't seen him crying a few seconds ago, he would have thought the white haired boy was fine. His distrust of the boy grew tenfold. Anyone who could smile that sweetly and still be Slytherin was obviously extremely manipulative or had a past so dark, it made the war seem like a piece of cake.

"I guess you don't know how that feels yet." The older male remarked after another brief pause in their conversation. He looked up to the sky not noticing the way Harry bristled all over. What was the teen implying? It sounded as if Allen was saying that Harry wasn't an orphan yet!

"You don't remember their love and their affection. You can't miss what you never knew." Allen continued with a wistful sigh. Harry swallowed his dissent in a painful manner, feeling just a little sorry for Allen. It probably did hurt more to have your parents brutally torn away from you after you got to know them instead of having never known them at all. It would hurt, Harry thought, so much more if he lost Sirius or Remus now instead of two or three years ago when they were complete strangers to him. Following that line of thought, the dark haired boy nodded. Another soft sigh slipped from Allen's lips.

Harry turned to look at the stars too and the pair stood there in companionable silence.

--

* * *

"Maybe we should go to Scotland."

Several pairs of eyes fell upon the Noah of Pleasure when he voiced his opinion. The dashing young-looking man shrugged casually, indicating that he didn't particularly care for the opinion of others. He was bored out of his mind. He did the same thing day after day, attack innocent people, hold parties and attempt to help Rhode with her homework. It was repetitive, dull, not exciting at all.

"I heard that the magical society there has some Innocence, I want to kill a few exorcists and destroy the fragment." Tyki continued in a bland manner that he might as well be talking about the weather. The dark haired man tapped his fingers against his chin thoughtfully.

"Isn't the boy there?" Lulubell asked, arms folded across her ample chest as she looked out at the lawn where Rhode was playing. She turned to share a look with Tyki. He knew that she knew, his real reason wasn't to retrieve Innocence or destroy it. The Noah of Pleasure simply enjoyed tormenting the young General in every way possible.

"Why he is, isn't he?" Tyki replied, averting his gaze pointedly. The female Noah turned and resumed Rhode-watching. The little girl in question was in the midst of destroying a beautiful rose bed.

"You should bring Rhode a long. She's getting restless." The Noah of Lust remarked. Tykie made a humming sound in the back of his throat as he rose to his feet and went to stand by Lulubell. The poor roses were slowly being ripped out of the soil and discarded in a pile nearby.

"I think, I will."

* * *

1. This chapter may very well be reworked and replaced because the more I read it, the more I am convinced that I'm deviating from their characters. Especially the Harry Potter characters


	6. Chapter 6

_6_

_6_

_Once again, thanks for all the reviews. :') Just in case anyone has forgotten, I do not own anything from D.Grayman or Harry Potter._

* * *

"You noticed it too?" Pansy whispered to Draco. Draco gave her an affronted look. Of course he noticed it. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, only a fool would not notice it. They had no idea what happened of course, but when Allen was smiling like _that_, it couldn't be anything good. The first years who were heading to the lake ducked out of his way as the white haired teen passed. Allen greeted them as per usual and continued on his way to goodness knows where. The Malfoy heir was sorely tempted to hail the white haired boy and ask him what was wrong but his instincts told him that was not a wise choice. Whatever happened last night was bad.

It was ridiculous. This whole thing was ridiculous. Professor Kanda was avoiding Allen and vice versa. They didn't greet each other, the professor didn't make scathing comments and Allen didn't rebut them. This, Draco supposed, was a cold war between Master and Apprentice. What about? He didn't know. The blonde boy wanted to find out but pushing wasn't the way. At least, not the Slytherin way. Daphne had already taken the initiative with her little clique of girls and started to talk to Allen in an attempt to make him laugh. They would coax him into spilling everything eventually.

The question was: How long was eventually?

Patience wasn't one of his fortes, the blond scowled then turned and left in the other direction.

* * *

Allen avoided Kanda for the rest of the week. Their once almost friendly teasing had once again turned to cold silence. Maybe it was better this way, Allen decided. He could bury himself in his role as a student, learning what he had to learn and researching what he had to research. It was better this way, he assured himself once again.

Ha, he had mastered no less than fifteen spells this week alone and managed to catch up on the third year material for potions. His control had a lot to be desired though.

"Are you coming or not, Allen?" Canes called softly from the hallway. Allen looked up. It was a Hogsmeade Saturday. An entire week since their tiff. A week. Seven days of studiously avoiding each other and not talking about what happened. Allen was tired of dwelling on it, maybe a day out was just the thing to get his mind off things. He raised his head and smiled a tired smile.

"Just let me get my bag." He called back, quite oblivious to the laughter that rippled through the common room. A few moments later he emerged from the doorway to the Slytherin common room and stepped out into the hallway. Irving, Montague and Canes were waiting for him quite impatiently. He didn't know why exactly but they had accepted him into their fold, including the young General in their activities like Gobstones, Chess, Exploding Snap so on and so forth. He hadn't had a chance to try Quidditch yet though, maybe he would ask one of them to loan him a broom later on. He heard that the entire Quidditch team had marvelous brooms courtesy of Draco's father. Allen couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. How nice it would be to have a doting father again. It took all of his self control not to hop on that train of thought.

"Did you see what she was wearing today?" Irving exclaimed with regards to Umbridge. Allen stifled a grin. The young witch actually kept a record of the 'crimes of fashion' Umbridge had committed. It was one of the few things that still made Irving seem more like a normal teenager. Canes was, quite surprisingly, going along with it despite his being a quiet fellow most of the time.

"I think it's more of a peach colour than orange." Montague interjected purely to agitate the two teens who were discussing the toad's unfortunate colour scheme. He was shouted down by both his companions. Allen couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping his throat. The smile that blossomed on his face was one of contentment.

"Oh I disagree," he pasted his sugar smile on his face as he slung an arm around Montague. "That was most definitely mauve."

The looks on their faces were definitely worth it. Hah, as if he could ever mistake Mauve for peach. Laughter followed the seventh years as they made their way to Hogsmeade, Allen was perfectly content to let his mind drift for now.

* * *

Kanda was perfectly content to watch the students leave for Hogsmeade that morning. It wasn't his problem what they did on their own time. The emptier the castle, the easier he could search it. He had no luck with the Chamber of Secrets lately. It was a little harder to divide his time between teaching, training, preparing lessons and looking for things that might not even be there but he managed. Unfortunately, not well enough, Kanda thought as he gritted his teeth to stop himself from yawning.

This was getting ridiculous, he had already given up his daily meditation and half the time for his training to sleep and yet he was feeling fatigued. The Defense professor was ever so reluctant to sacrifice more time with his precious sword. He knew that he should ask for help but pride prevented him from going to Allen and apologizing. _Just apologize!_ His conscience screamed. _No!_ Kanda replied. _He's the only one in this together with you._ He hated to admit it. His conscience was right. They were partners. For the fifth time that day, he wished that he had been stuck with Lavi or Lenalee. Sure they may have been annoying too but at least, not as annoying and troublesome as Allen.

Allen… the look in his golden eyes… haunted, alone and sad.

The swordsman let out a growl. Damnit! He couldn't stand that look! He wanted to shove Allen against the wall and demand that he snap out of it. But he knew that would only make things worse between them. He clenched his fists an unclenched them, feeling indecisive. Tonight, tonight he would screw up his courage and apo… apolo… ap… apologize to the brat. Kanda took a look at the stack of assignments on the paper and sighed. He wasn't one to slack off but he was definitely going to have to hold practical classes soon just to stop the paperwork from coming in.

Kanda raised his head and looked out the window again. The sun mocked him with its brightness for a moment then disappeared behind a cloud. The white clumps water vapour provided shade every now and then. It wasn't as cloudy as he would have liked, but Kanda got up anyway. He would go to Hogsmeade. It was a good way to relax his mind a little and take some time off. The swordsman secured his sword by his side and strode out of his room, dodging Peeves on the way.

* * *

Rhode cupped her chin in her hand as she licked ice cream off her spoon. Tyki was off somewhere doing something, saying that it had nothing to do wit her. What was the point of taking her to Scotland if he wasn't going to allow her to do anything? Not even peek on Allen?

Boring, boring, boring! She had nothing to do except wander around the sleepy town and et ice cream. This was no fun, Rhode pouted petulantly and waved her hand at the Akumas that was with her.

"Go destroy something and report back to me." She ordered. Well if she wasn't allowed to damage anything, she would have her Akuma do it. After all, Tyki never said anything about that now did he? She turned her head to watch disinterestedly as the Akumas morphed and warped into a group of small children then run off into the streets.

Rhode couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her throat. She looked forward to seeing them come back with tales of the people they killed.

* * *

Irving reminded Allen of Lenalee, Canes seemed like a friendlier version of Kanda and Montague was a little similar to Lavi without the constant chattering of course. The white haired General wondered how they were getting on right now…

Enough of reminiscing! He forcibly dragged himself out of his memories and wonderings to focus on the present. Irving was busy in the boutique a few shops away, fawning over the 'stunning', 'intricately made' chiffon evening dress she saw. The cloudy sky provided Allen with a little shade as he stood outside, patiently waiting for Montague and Canes to emerge from the apothecary. The smell offended Allen's nose and made him feel ill.

"Mister? Come and play with us!" A four, five maybe six year old girl tugged on his pant leg and ran off giggling to her crowd of friends not far away. Allen grinned, quite happy to oblige. He made his way over to the area behind the shops where they were playing tag.

_Click, whirrrrr_. Allen's eyes widened, and he spun around quickly, searching for the Akuma that set his eye off. Not here, not now! Please not in Hogsmeade! His gaze roamed the deserted street warily, the children had run out of sight so they couldn't have set off his curse. But if they didn't, then who d….

He didn't get to finish his thought. Something heavy impacted the back of his head, rendering him unconscious.

"Hihihi! They really never look up!" The 'child' on the roof laughed.

* * *

The tension in the air had been palpable. It was, Hermione thought, quite like something right out of a soap opera after the two protagonists had a huge misunderstanding. Professor Kanda ignored his apprentice, and Allen returned the favour the entire week. The bright witch didn't get a chance to observe them in class – they were of different ages after all – but she did notice that the Slytherins were dutifully ignoring the rift and pretending that nothing happened whatsoever. In fact, Malfoy and Montague were going out of their way to distract either side. So much so that Harry and Ron had gone almost seven days without having a squabble with the Slytherins..

Of course, the two teenaged boys could never give the poor Slytherins the benefit of the doubt and were speculating about attempts to sabotage the Master and Apprentice bond or something a long those lines. Here, Hermione rolled her eyes as she realized that her two best friends were discussing ways Malfoy might have cooked up to further the divide between Professor Kanda and Allen, one of which somehow involved pink spotted and possibly floral underwear. Hermione decided that she didn't want to know and invested her interest in a nearby shop which sold brightly coloured quills. Maybe she should buy one for Allen. There was a beautiful beige coloured one with white spots that the older boy might like.

Speak of the devil, Hermione caught sight of the white haired teen emerging from the alleyway. She raised her hand and called him over. He looked slightly confused and yet purposeful as he strode over confidently. It seemed a little out of place.

"Miss… Can you tell me where's the way back to school?"

Even before Allen finished the sentence, Hermione had already started to back away, tugging her friends with her. Her gut instinct told her that she needed to put a great distance between her and the teenager.

"What's wrong?" Allen's expression was one of great concern. The bushy haired witch swallowed hard. There were sounds of commotion coming from the general direction of Allen's back. Several people shouted and sparks went up but Hermione didn't really notice. Her eyes were fixed on Allen.

"Nothing Allen. It's just that I don't believe the grammar in your sentence is correct." She started bravely, hand reaching down into her robes and grasping her wand. She drew it out discreetly, watching the transfer student cautiously. Her instincts were screaming at her to run – Or maybe it was the people? – and not look back but she clamped down on them. Allen was Allen, sweet Slytherin Allen. He wasn't, wouldn't, couldn't….

As if in response to her unvoiced fear, Allen's grin became impossibly wide.

"So you noticed…" He sneered, the corners of his lips darkening and widening to form a mockery of a clown's smile. To Hermione's right, Harry's arm was alright out, Stupefy rolling off the tip of his tongue. The brown haired witch noted that his incantation was perfect and his wand jab was on the spot. No doubt a side effect of Professor Kanda's teaching. The white haired teen merely shifted to the side, letting the red beam of light pass him. Ron's own spell left his wand few seconds later but _Allen_ dodged once again, taking a menacing step forward. Belatedly, Hermione cast a Jelly-Legs hex but it glanced off Allen's chest and dissipated.

I have to be dreaming, the witch thought, watching as her schoolmate's visage distorted, ripped then peeled away slowly, revealing dark grey skin and a hideous creature. Somewhere from behind the Allen …_thing_, a girl screamed. Shouts of terror and fear rang out. Hermione cast yet another hex. The milling throngs of students scattered and ran, Hermione didn't blame them, it wasn't every day you saw a _something_ discard a schoolmate's face like a second skin. The Creature tilted his head to the side, the grin stretching to an impossible length. Hermione almost forgot to breathe as it grew and expanded into epic proportions in front of her, its distorted honey coloured eyes never left her own. Her spell casting grew erratic and unfocused as terror gripped her heart. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a detached part of her ran through all the books she read, cross referencing all the magical animals she had learned about in the past four years. Nothing matched, she thought, swallowing hard, she didn't know how to get out of this one! Beside her, Hermione noticed that Harry was still casting spell after spell steadily, Ron doing the same at a slower pace as the three of them back pedaled as fast as they could.

It leaned forward, maw opening and what looked like a gun emerging from its throat.

"Prepare to die!" Its laughter was high pitched and sharp. Light gathered at the tip of the gun. At this point, Hermione yanked on both her friends arm, the three of them turned and ran as fast as they could. The brown haired witch heard a familiar voice cry out something behind her but she didn't look back, she was barely aware of the blood rushing in her ears, the adrenaline coursing through her body and heavy panting of her two best friends.

* * *

Harry shoved Ron into the alleyway then yanked Hermione with him into another the moment gunshots rang through the town. He clamped his hand over her mouth to control her whimpers. The creature, monster _thing_ had done something to her! Harry was sure of it. He had noticed the way its eyes never left Hermione's. Hermione was a brave witch! She wouldn't be reduced to a mess by something like that! He only hoped she would snap out of it soon.

"Hermione, get a grip." He hissed. The brown haired witch gasped sharply and calmed visibly, her frightened eyes boring into Harry's own.

"I don't know what that is, Harry, I don't." She whispered in a panic. She looked over to Ron. The red head was making exaggerated gestures, telling her to breathe. Hermione let out a hysterical giggle at his contorted expression.

"It's not following us anymore." Harry whispered, hearing sounds of metal clashing against metal outside, he peeked out cautiously but only saw a dark blur, running circles around the creature and several other similar things, occasionally darting in to land a blow. A glimpse of long dark hair made him blink but it was gone before he could look again.

"We need to help!" Hermione's voice was shaking but controlled. Harry shared a look with Ron. This was the witch they both knew and loved. She took a few breaths and wrung her wrists.

"We tried basic spells on it. Nothing works. It could be like a Giant, which would mean it has natural magical immunity or it might be more like a Dragon which would mean its eyes are its weakest point." Here, the witch took another breath and straightened.

"My aim is best, I'll cast the Conjunctivitis curse immediately. Harry, Ron, you guys have more power, hit it with the hardest Reducto you can. If that fails, retreat and meet back here." She nodded as if to reassure herself. Metal clanged again and a shout of anger went up. Sounds of gun fire rang out again, causing the trio to flinch.

"Go!"

The trio slipped from their hiding places and ran towards the commotion.

* * *

Ron was scared, he couldn't deny that. But he was a Gryffindor and Gryffindors did not back down in the face of danger unless it was a strategic retreat. Harry was just a little way from him, Hermione behind them. Harry made a shooing motion at Ron, Ron veered off to the side and readied his wand. The creature was facing away from them and seemed to be focused on something in front of it. A very familiar looking something. He didn't have time to ponder. He saw Harry raise his wand. With great determination, Ron raised his own and mustered up all his power. His lips mouthed the words but he didn't hear his voice. Twin beams of light struck the creature. It turned to smirk at both of them, honey coloured eyes –Allen's eyes – mocking them.

The redhead was barely aware of Hermione's shout and the light rushing towards the grotesque being. It screamed and lurched backwards unsteadily.

"Hell's insects!"

Dozens, maybe even hundreds of creepy pointed things impaled the creature. It let out a howl of pain and crashed to the ground. Ron watched in morbid fascination as pentacles covered it and the thing disintegrated into nothing.

Hushed silence reigned for a moment. The sun emerged from behind a cloud and shone down upon them, seeming quite out of place amongst all the destruction. Or may be the destruction seemed out of place in the bright sunshine? Ron was barely aware of the dust and debris around his feet, remnants of the building that once stood where he was standing.

He looked up to look at Harry then Hermione. Four years of friendship enabled them to accurately predict each other's next move. All three Gryffindors turned to look at the person who had valiantly faced off with the creature.

Bruised, bloody and looking extremely pissed off, the person glared at them.

"Professor Kanda, are you alright?" Ron heard Hermione ask tentatively. The dark haired man's response was to straighten and flick his sword. With a practiced movement, he sheathed it and reached inside his robes. Here, the Japanese man hesitated and then looked at each one of them in turn. He seemed to come to a decision and turned on his heel.

"Th… tha…." He struggled with something.

"Thank you. For your aid." The Defense Professor all but growled. He took a few strides forward but then turned slightly. Ron could almost swear the man was doing his equivalent of a blush if his halted speech was anything to go by.

"Are you in need of first aid?" Professor Kanda asked, a little belatedly. Maybe it was from shock or perhaps relief but Ron couldn't help but chuckle weakly. Harry was shaking his head a little mirthfully and Hermione had a faint smile on her face.

"Not really, no." Hermione replied as she shuffled slowly over to Ron. The redhead echoed her reply and Harry shook his head.

"Then help me round up the students." Professor Kanda ordered, making his way over to an overturned table behind which a few third years were hiding.

Ron laced his fingers between Hermione's for a brief moment, sharing a relieved look with her. Slowly, she disentangled their fingers and headed off to accompany Professor Kanda. Ron looked toward Harry and the two of them set off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Perhaps it was God's will, Kanda pondered, that he happened to be around when the Akuma attacked. Otherwise, the casualty rate would have been even higher. So far, only three deaths had been reported. One was an elderly witch who had a heart attack, another was a young man who had been crushed by a pillar and the last was a middle aged woman whose spell backfired on her when she attempted to help. Kanda prayed that there would be no more deaths reported.

The rest of the people involved suffered injuries that could be healed over time. More importantly, no students had died or at least none that he knew of. Luckily the commotion from the village had roused the attention of the teachers back at Hogwarts. Almost all of them were aiding in the rebuilding and repairing of the houses and shops.

It had taken Kanda a bit of time to dispatch all of the Akuma. There were at least 10 of them of varying sizes and most spells didn't work on them. Why were they here? Did the Noahs know about the Innocence? Did this attack confirm the presence of fragments? More importantly, Kanda had seen Allen leave in this direction. Why the hell didn't the boy help? The swordsman was seriously starting to rethink his decision to apo…apolo… apologize to the General. All he knew was that he had heard a commotion and arrived at the scene to see a huge grey coloured Akuma open fire on the students.

"What was that, professor?"

Kanda sighed inwardly. He had been dreading this ever since the appearance of the Akuma. A mere few weeks with Hermione told him that the witch wasn't just bright, she was insightful, perceptive and a little too nosy for her own good.

"Not sure, I have never seen it before." He lied through clenched teeth. That was a partial truth. He didn't know if that was an advanced Level two or a Level three. The Defense Professor hauled two third years up none too gently. He sent them in the direction of several seventh year Hufflepuffs and Hogsmeade residents who were helping to gather the students.

"You knew how to deal with it." Her tone was accusing.

"I saw a similar thing, but of smaller size." Kanda replied, purposely not meeting her gaze as they cleared away a bit of rubble and levitated it off the street. Hermione was quiet for a moment. Kanda could hear shouting from behind him as parents were reunited with children and teachers tended to the injured.

"It looked like Allen." She continued quietly.

"His eyes." The witch whispered. Kanda guessed it was something akin to first kill jitters. The shock of killing something or at least aiding in its death for the first time was bound to have some sort of effect on a person. It took him two days to snap out of the shock of his first kill and another three to accept that he would have to do it again.

"It wasn't." He snapped harshly, a little too harshly for his own liking. _Professor, you are a professor._ He berated himself then continued in a softer voice.

"Often times the devil will pretend to be a person close to you, to gain your trust. And when it does, it will drag you down to the abyss with it."

Hermione was silent for a long while. Kanda took the chance to move on ahead. He could hear her levitate a bit of rubble out of the way and continue towards one of the more secluded area. Nothing prepared him for the soft gasp.

"Allen!"

* * *

So many, so many, so many questions. Hermione felt like a muddle of questions. They bubbled to the surface of her mind the moment the shock wore off. The relief she felt from seeing the monster die and knowing her friends were intact evaporated like water on a sunny day. In its place was a numbness that scared her. She just killed something. Well not exactly killed it but she helped to kill it.

The bushy haired witch levitated a heavy bit of wood out of the way and onto the sides of the streets. The creature. It had looked so much like Allen. It had smelt like him, looked like him, _smiled_ like him. Its voice was exactly the same. If she hadn't spent so much time observing him, she wouldn't have realized that it wasn't him. One thing about Allen was that he knew her name. He had greeted her in the library and in the hallways. That … thing didn't.

Professor Kanda had taken it down with a strange attack. According to the other people, he had fought all ten? Eleven? Of them and defeated them. Hermione couldn't rightly recall the name but was sure it had to do with Insects. It was the first time she saw the dark haired man fully unsheathe his sword and use it. Hermione had only gotten a brief glimpse of the Defense Professor in his fighting stance, looking every bit like a samurai in one of those Japanese movies her father had rented. Minus the armour, of course but that was negligible. She opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again and finally asked the question that had been bugging her.

"What was that, professor?" Even she sounded detached to herself.

"Not sure, I have never seen it before." The professor replied in a rather tense and brusque way. Hermione wrote it off as stress and worry. What professor would not be worried over the wellbeing of his students? But the way Professor Kanda had handled it, he had to be lying! There was no way he didn't know what it was unless he had managed to guess its weakness…

"You knew how to deal with it." Hermione couldn't help herself from blurting out. She must have sounded like an ungrateful girl. She looked up in the direction of her professor. He was bent over part of what looked to be a fallen wall and toeing it with his boot. He gestured to her and together they levitated it out of the way. Hermione could see Ron and Harry working together further up the street, helping a third year Hufflepuff to stand.

"I saw a similar thing, but of smaller size."

Hermione almost didn't catch the reply. She bit her lip. Similar thing, smaller size. There were more of those things and they may or may not have the ability to replicate other people. What if it had killed Allen and taken over his place? What if her own schoolmates were actually those things?! It looked like Allen. It had his eyes. Like Allen. His Eyes.

She must have subconsciously voiced her thoughts because Professor Kanda spoke up.

"It wasn't." He sounded strained. He probably was. They hadn't found Allen yet. Hermione continued looking amongst the rubble not expecting the Japanese man to say anything else

"Often times the devil will pretend to be a person close to you, to gain your trust. And when it does, it will drag you down to the abyss with it." Professor Kanda said in a quiet voice. It was as if he was remembering something that had happened to him.

Hermione stayed silent, not wanting to intrude on his silent reflection. Professor Kanda moved on ahead, not sparing a glance to the collapsed shop house on the side. The bushy haired witch frowned. Was that a dead rabbit? Poor thing!

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Hermione intoned and directed the bricks out of the way. She made her way towards the presumably dead rabbit. A sense of foreboding gripped her. The fur… looked too fine to be fur. It was more like hair. She stepped over a fallen beam and gasped.

Allen lay there, arms folded across his waist and his expression one of peace. If it weren't for the pool of blood under his head, Hermione would have thought him sleeping.

"Allen!" She cried, scrambling to get to the older teen. He was, was he? He couldn't be! She stopped short of the still boy, Professor Kanda arriving on the scene just a little bit later.

He did the unthinkable. The man laughed. He laughed as he shoved the debris away and looked down at his apprentice. Hermione couldn't see his face. She didn't want to, not if it was amusement she was going to see.

"Is he dead?" The words slipped from her mouth. She dared not step closer to ascertain for herself. Professor Kanda turned and gave a glare that suggested that it was a stupid question. Hermione felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. _Help!_ She turned and stumbled across the fallen wood, her feet moving automatically towards the teachers in Hogsmeade.

"Professor McGonagall!" She cried out. "Professor, it's Allen!" Hermione skidded to a stop in front of the tartan clad witch.

* * *

Kanda froze in his steps. Mentally, he ran through the numerous times he had seen Allen injured and possibly close to death.

_Germany, on a dark February evening a year ago. Allen went on ahead directly after one of his missions. Kanda started off from headquarters, arriving half a day later than Allen. The Japanese man arrived on the scene to see Allen bleeding from a stomach wound, trying desperately to hold what looked like part of his digestive tract in while slashing at the endless Akuma._

_Italy, one week after Christmas. Kanda and Allen got themselves separated in a city plunged into eternal darkness. Allen stumbled back to the hotel with numerous injuries as the sun shone for the first time in four months, his innocence severely cracked and broken. The general sustained no less than six broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and a sprained ankle in addition to the cuts that littered his body._

_China, on the start of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Lavi, Kanda, Allen and Lenalee were ambushed while investigating rumours of a benevolent dragon. Allen somehow dragged them all back to the China branch severely injured and collapsed himself. The smile on his face as he bound his right arm broken and useless to his chest then used his left to drag them on a painstakingly made stretcher. Kanda remembered watching the bloody trail of footprints go by before passing out completely. _

The swordsman turned stiffly and walked over to where Hermione was standing, forcing himself not to run or do anything that would betray his feelings.

The sight of Allen placed there in an almost peaceful manner wrenched a choked laugh from Kanda's throat. He chuckled bitterly, instincts taking over as he shoved the wooden beams aside and stood beside the white haired boy. He looked almost as if he was asleep. The pool of blood and the bloody brick told him otherwise.

"Brat." Kanda snapped halfheartedly. It lacked its usual bite and anger. It was silly but had hoped that the boy would just sit up, smirk and say it was a prank. How hilarious it would be if the youngest General ever died of a brick to the head? The one God loved had returning to his maker in such a peaceful way that it was laughable.

"Is he dead?" Hermione asked, hand covering her mouth in horror. Kanda threw her a glare. Allen had survived being nearly gutted, having all his ribs broken at least once, poisoned and a whole plethora of things that were meant to be fatal. To just pass on like this had to be some kind of insult to someone somewhere. The swordsman knelt. The white haired boy's breathing was so shallow it was almost non-existent. He heard the bushy haired witch behind him rush off to look for help, her mind finally kicking in.

Kanda adjusted his sword. He gently scooped the younger male into his arms. Allen's head lolled, his mouth parting a little. Kanda could feel the blood seeping through the fabric of his robes. It would stain his white shirt soon enough. Did they have bleach to get it out? Or did they use some magical spell to wash away the stains? He looked at the seventh year students and the adults helping the injured. They could deal with themselves. Kanda didn't fancy having Komui, Lenalee, Lavi and the rest of the order on his back for letting Allen die.

The swordsman started looked towards the castle in the distance. Hogwarts loomed big a head, it was a long walk back. Yup, his sleeve was definitely going to stain because the blood was getting to his arm already. It felt like some what going back to the Black order after a mission. A bird had the audacity to chirp and the sun seemed to shine with a vengeance, the clouds having disappeared some time ago.

Kanda really hated sunny days.

* * *

_Dammit, the chapters are getting shorter and shorter! I'm having exams now! Sorry! I'll try to make up for it the next chapter!  
_


	7. Chapter 7

7

_( I actually managed to accidentally delete this chapter. Luckily I was only about a fifth of my way through the chapter so it didn't matter much. In a fit of insanity, I also deleted Word. Yesh, that is why I spent the better part of a week downloading it and reinstalling the thing.  
_

---

"No." Kanda stated once again. He didn't bother to look at the mediwitch who was fretting needlessly over Allen. Maybe he should just let the woman enervate the boy. It would save him a lot of grief, breath and saliva. Honestly, he didn't see what the fuss was all about. They confirmed that Allen was sleeping deeply, not in a coma, and it had only been four hours since they brought him back and patched him up. Kanda knew from first hand experience that little things like this never kept Allen down for long. Or at least, not his version of long. Here, Kanda decided that this particular sort of thinking warranted at least an hour of meditation so he could sort them out and see if they were normal.

Part of him was wary of letting his guard down. If the Akuma could impersonate anyone, what was to say that this Allen, was the real Allen? For all Kanda knew, the real General could be rotting in a ditch somewhere…. Kanda could have sworn his heart missed a beat there.

The swordsman ignored the odd feeling in his chest and pondered this carefully for a brief moment before dismissing the idea. Was the aforementioned scenario even possible? Out of the question! The body wouldn't have begun to rot yet. That required a minimum of twenty four hours, twenty more to go.

He turned his gaze back to the still form of his colleague. The white sheet that covered the teen rose and fell a little unevenly. Kanda fingered his sword uneasily. Allen was waking up, he needed to be ready just in case. Dear Lord, please let there not be a just in case. Kanda thought to himself. He wouldn't be able to take it if this Allen was also a fake. Of course, the exorcists back home would have his head even if Kanda always said that he would leave the brat behind when he became a burden. Then there would be hell to pay with the higher ups, a whole lot of writing and a huge report detailing what happened. And maybe… – there was that odd little feeling in his chest again – just maybe, a little part of him would miss the brat…. Just a little, little bit.

Pale eyes fluttered open. The swordsman was by Allen's side in a moment, katana half out, positioned against Allen's neck.

"Professor Kanda!"

The man in question ignored the mediwitch's cry of outrage. He wasn't taking any chances. The young General blinked several times, glared at Kanda and twitched violently. The action caused the sword to slip. A thin line of blood welled up in its wake. Neither male said nor did anything for a full minute.

"Prove that you're General Walker." Kanda hissed in his ear.

"Remember your place, exorcist." Allen snarled back.

Within a split second, Allen drew his legs up and planted his boots in Kanda's chest. There was a cry of horror from the mediwitch and a gasp from one of the other professors as the swordsman was sent flying through the curtains and across the room. Kanda hit the stone wall with a sickening crack and slumped to the floor coughing. He had forgotten just how strong Allen actually was. At least this proved his identity, no concealed Akuma had ever managed to throw him this far or forcefully. Blood dribbled out the corner of his mouth as he raised his head. The white haired teen gave Kanda a cold look. He gingerly swung his legs out of bed and winced as he put a hand to his head. The action made Kanda feel even more guilty for treating Allen like that just after he awoke.

The swordsman righted himself with difficulty and strode over to where Allen stood, ignoring the blooming pain in his chest. The swordsman slipped his wand into his palm and directed it at the curtains, willing them to shut. A few words later, the tiny space was warded. The indignant and worried voices of the other people in the infirmary could still be heard, but anything said in the impromptu cubicle would not carry to the outside world.

"You're a paranoid bastard." Allen spat in disgust. Here the boy made a grimace as he rubbed his temple again. Kanda hesitated, eyes darkening. He was aware of why the whole fiasco started in the first place. He should have apologized earlier. This would not have happened if he had… had just… His mouth opened and closed in an almost comical way as he tried to force the words out.

In the end, the swordsman moved forward and enveloped his 'apprentice' in a one armed hug. Allen was still short enough for Kanda to rest his chin on the white head. The teenager stiffened and made a weak protest. The words were muffled in Kanda's still bloody sleeve.

"I… I'm… shouldn't have said what I said." Kanda murmured. The swordsman winced, still unable to say the word. He felt the boy in his arm relax just a little. It made the swordsman feel better, as if he had been forgiven. Thoughts swam in his head, making him feel a little disoriented as he tightened his grip.

"I shouldn't have let it get to me." Allen muttered back. The swordsman couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from quirking upwards. The ache in his chest lessened but didn't go away completely. Kanda closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Darkness seemed to whirl around him. Coupled with the relief he felt at finding out that Allen was fine and not an imposter, it seemed welcome and inviting.

"Bakanda… you're drooling blood on my hea…"

Kanda didn't hear the rest of the sentence because he collapsed.

---

Allen awoke pissed. He didn't really know why but he was in a bad mood when he woke up. Now this didn't happen often and even when it did, no one really bothered him in the mornings. Therefore by the time Allen went down for breakfast, his grouchiness would have disappeared.

As the memories of what happened flooded back in a great deluge, Allen resisted the urge to groan. He was really getting lax in his training. For the record, he blamed magic school. Being a student was hard. The boy opened his eyes and was met with glaring dark ones. Allen twitched and was made aware of the sword at his throat.

"Prove that you're General Walker." The Japanese man and the cause of all the problems hissed.

The sentence incensed the young man. Didn't Kanda have anything better to do than antagonize him? For goodness sake! He just woke up from being knocked out by a low level Akuma! Couldn't the paranoid bastard just let him alone to be embarrassed in peace? Allen bared his teeth and snarled.

"Remember your place, exorcist." Eat that! I rank higher! Allen thought in satisfaction as he kicked his colleague in the chest and sent the bastard across the room. The general felt a kind of sadistic vindictiveness wash over him when he saw blood dribble out and drip on the floor. The idiot deserved it!

Allen looked away as Kanda came over, no doubt to exact his revenge. Several spells later, they stood glaring at each other. Neither willing to make the first move or so it seemed. Allen noted the strained look on the Japanese man's face. He looked tired and much older than his twenty years. A vindictive voice in Allen's mind jeered, saying that it was the swordman's own fault for being so paranoid. He voiced his thought.

The General couldn't believe his eyes. A flicker of regret and sadness came and went on Kanda's normally stoic face. The Japanese man's mouth opened and closed several times then he took a few steps forward and wrapped one arm around Allen. Allen could feel the older male's chin pressing into the top of his head.

"I… I'm… shouldn't have said what I said." The sentence was soft, so soft that Allen could barely hear it. All of a sudden, the cold anger that Allen felt toward his partner dissipated. Hadn't they known each other for three years? Didn't they spend all the time they had together bickering, yelling and fighting? It had been a callous and insensitive statement but it was nothing out of the ordinary, was it? At least, nothing out of the ordinary for them both.

"I shouldn't have let it get to me." Allen muttered as his face heated up. In hindsight, he should have known that Kanda didn't mean it. After all, Kanda was an orphan too. It was stupid. Completely and utterly stupid for them to get so worked up about this. Something trickled onto his head. The coppery scent made the General wrinkle his nose.

"Bakanda… you're drooling blood on my hea…" Allen never got to finish. The Japanese man went limp and just collapsed, the wards coming down alongside the wizard. Allen's eyes widened. His mind clicked into auto and the next thing he knew, he was lifting his colleague onto the bed and rolling him onto his back to check his breathing. A strong hand pulled at his arm and Allen numbly let himself be led away as Madam Pomfrey took over.

"Ba…. Bakanda." The words slipped from his lips. The white haired teen could only watch helplessly as the mediwitch shut the curtains and set to work.

---

"Didn't I tell you to behave?" Tyki Mikk asked, tapping his cane against the floor in irritation. Rhode pouted and folded her arms. She had been downright bored! What was she to do? Tyki Mikk had grounded her immediately after he found out what the child had done. He forbade all the Akuma from taking orders from Rhode and confined her as best as he could to the little room they booked.

"If word gets out, we'll have that pesky egoistic Dark Lord on our tail begging us to help him in his worthless cause." Tyki gave his young charge a disapproving glance as he started to pace.

"But, I didn't do anything!" Rhode protested with the kind of logic that only little girls had. She received an annoyed look in turn and was rapped on the head with the tip of Tyki's cane.

"You indirectly put the key player in the hospital, alerted the staff of Hogwarts to the existence of Akuma and somehow managed to cause the destruction of a small town. You call that nothing?" Tyki asked severely. Rhode managed to look a little ashamed of herself as she twiddled the edge of her skirt. The dark haired man nodded in approval.

"Now you stay here and think about what you've done." He remarked as he stepped out of the door. "If you're a good girl, I might let you go out tonight." He shut the door on Rhode's dismayed face.

---

"Aside from the cracked ribs, he's just overworked." Madam Pomfrey delivered her verdict in the hushed tone nurses always used when they were comforting a relative of the patient. Allen gave her a weak smile and thanked her for her effort. The mediwitch patted him on the back and ushered the white haired boy out of the infirmary. Allen left unwillingly, throwing a backward glance at the white bed at the end of the room.

It was his fault. Allen was damned sure of it. Kanda had been doing fine up till the fight. He had been on worse missions but he always had a partner to help him out. Allen shouldn't have left him alone. He should have known that Kanda would overwork himself without someone to pace him. The swordsman was exactly that way. A little voice in his mind, probably the fourteenth, reminded him that he wasn't God and therefore wasn't expected to know everything. It did nothing to alleviate his guilt and only served to make it worse.

_You do know that he's probably feeling guilty too…_ The voice was right. Right now, they were probably going around in guilt circles, feeling responsible for each other's predicament but not saying anything because they were both too proud. Allen laughed a little at this realization. He choked on his chuckle and sobered. They needed to talk more. This non-communication was killing them and the mission. They couldn't afford this, not when Akuma were on the loose.

Allen resolved to speak to Kanda more and attempt to draw the man out of his shell.

---

The rumour mill was in full swing, churning out story after story on what the hell happened in Hogsmeade that very morning. Some of them were spawned by the boys who believed that Professor Kanda had accidentally brought in a few demons or creatures from Japan. Half of the student body believed that it was an attack by Voldemort himself using the modified bodies of dead people. Some chose to believe that those creatures were sent by Allen's jilted lover to kill the professor for taking her – or possibly his – lover away.

Draco didn't know which one he wanted to believe. The second would have been common sense if it weren't for the fact that there had been no calling card. It was a known fact that Death eaters loved to burn the Dark Mark into every available surface. Hah, he himself hadn't heard anything from his father or the rest of the little clique.

That left the other two hypothesizes. The blond Slytherin really doubted that Allen would be the kind to relinquish his hold on a lover for magic – much less a male lover. The older boy seemed more of the type to do all he could to protect the ones he loved, very Gryffindor, but did it in a roundabout way that made little to no sense.

The process of elimination left the first. It was the most probable but Draco dismissed it anyway. Professor Kanda wasn't a careless person, the Japanese man wouldn't have let something that big slip through his notice. Now that all three speculations were crossed out and stuffed in the bin, Draco couldn't help but come up with a few of his own.

Was it possible that someone wasn't after Potter, but rather after Professor Kanda and Allen instead? It was but it was improbable. What could be more important than doing the Chosen one in anyway?

The blonde sighed as he got up from the chair. Montague clapped him on the shoulder heavily and gestured vaguely in the direction of the Great hall.

"He's wandering around near the Hall." The older male remarked. Draco stood up and headed out. Slytherins might not have the best of people skills or moral values but they did at least try to care for their own. The fifth, sixth and seventh years were taking turns to keep an eye on Allen after they learned that Professor Kanda had collapsed.

Allen looked a little sad, a little guilty and extremely lost. He was meandering around the Great Hall when Draco got there. A sixth year Slytherin who was standing in the far corner caught Draco's eye and gave the blonde a short nod.

Abruptly, the older male turned and left, leaving Draco to watch Allen pace. Most of the students got out of his way, not wanting to agitate the white haired boy. Several Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs tried to engage him in conversation only to be blown off by a blank stare.

The young Malfoy took a cursory glance around to scope out who was where as he slowly begun to approach Allen. It wouldn't do to let him wander around for too long. Merlin knew what the teen might do. With that thought in mind, he lengthened his strides and raised his hand to hail the white haired transfer student.

"Allen!" The voice belonged to none other than Granger. She just turned the corner and bumped into the older boy. They stared at each other for what seemed like an awfully long time to Draco before Hermione started to back away. The bushy haired witch stammered an apology then ran off in the other direction, leaving a confused transfer student behind. Predictably enough, the second youngest Weasley stood up to follow her and Harry gave Allen a odd look before heading off to find his two friends.

Draco increased his stride and grabbed Allen's arm before seventh year could do or say anything.

"Come, Walker. Professor Snape wants to speak with you." The blonde lied smoothly. The white haired teen turned and gave Draco a beautiful smile. It made Draco uncomfortable.

"I'm sure he does." Allen replied in a manner that let the Malfoy know that he didn't believe a single word. Nevertheless, the transfer let himself be led towards the dungeons and back to the Slytherin dorm.

The journey was mostly silent. Neither student said a word for a long time until they were almost at the Slytherin Dorms. Draco stopped, causing Allen to turn around and look at him questioningly.

"I don't know what's going on." Draco admitted bluntly, deciding that Allen wasn't one for word games. The blonde regarded Allen with the most piercing look he could manage. "But I wish you luck with whatever problems you have with Professor Kanda."

The corners of Allen's mouth drooped a little and the false expression disappeared. The white haired boy nodded just a little to acknowledge Draco's support. He then turned and walked towards the portrait hole. It swung open for him as he said the password with Draco close behind.

---

"I couldn't face him." Hermione said, huddled in front of the fireplace in the common room. She turned haunted eyes towards Ron who knelt down before her.

"I just kept seeing that thing, rip itself out if him." She whispered. The image of the gruesome thing smiling that smile, wearing that face, that skin kept replaying in her mind. "Then I remembered him "Ron gave Harry a look. It had only been that morning, merely that morning that it happened.

Ron placed a comforting hand on her arm and rubbed circles there.

"Give it time." Harry murmured next to her, patting her shoulder reassuringly. Hermione buried her face in the crook of her arms. Part of her knew that it was natural to have such a reaction especially after a traumatic experience. Another part told her that she should know enough that the Allen she fought wasn't truly Allen and that she couldn't hold it against him.

"I'll get some food from Dobby." The Boy-Who-Lived said softly as he stepped out of the portrait hole. If Hermione wasn't going down to the Hall for Dinner, then Harry would bring the dinner to her.

A knowing look passed between him and Ron. The red head nodded and shifted to hug Hermione, wisely keeping his mouth shut for now.

Harry headed off towards the kitchens, names of various foods running through his mind.

---

Sunday passed in a subdued manner and Monday followed similarly. The shock of the attack on Hogsmeade still had not worn off and absence of the Japanese Professor from class seemed to have a big impact on the students. Despite his gruff, snappish demeanour and odd teaching methods, Professor Kanda was still respected and liked by more than half of the student body. It could not be denied that they learned a lot from him.

Whispers of overwork rustled through the school and many a teen felt guilty for not paying more attention in class or trying harder. For a professor to work himself to death was unheard of. It usually meant that his pupils were in need of so much teaching that the professor in question had neglected his own needs.

The fact that Umbridge had stepped in to fill the foreign teacher's shoes made it all the worse. The woman could not teach and seemed to be intent on not teaching anything important. Her simpering tone inspired a trend of misbehaving students to be sent from her class. No less then twelve different students stormed from the Defense classroom that day, clutching notes in their hands to look for their Head of House.

Tuesday came and went in a similar fashion to the days before it. Even the teachers felt a little put out at the absence of the Foreign teacher. Of course, this was more to the fact that they had to endure Madame Umbridge's incessant simpering and constant whining about the discipline in the school.

"I've more students than you." Professor Snape remarked to Professor McGonagall a little sorrowfully at dinner. He may not have liked the Japanese man much but at least Professor Kanda was competent. The Ministry official was hopeless.

Minerva had won the little bet they had between them. She insisted that more Slytherins would have purposefully done something to get out of class by Tuesday. Indeed, the sixth and seventh years had decided that DADA had become a waste of time. They managed to come up with a potion that would make them seem ill long enough to skip class. More than half of the older students had pleaded ill, choosing to stay in their dorms or the hospital wing.

Allen was no exception. The white haired teen declared that he was sick and was going to the hospital wing, making a stop by the dungeons to inform his Head of House that he would be having detention with Professor Umbridge every night for a month.

"It's a shame, so many students taken ill." Umbridge simpered from her position a few chairs down. Professor Sprout who had the misfortune of sitting next to her just made a non-committal sound, the rest of the professors rolled their eyes.

---

It was light out, Kanda was sure of it even before he opened his eyes. He felt like six horses pulling a carriage with spiked wheels had run over him and left a particularly huge hole in his chest. There was a slow dull ache in his body that usually went along with recuperating from a debilitating fight.

The events leading up to his collapse returned to him sluggishly, filtering through his mind with a slowness that was infinitely irritating. The morning, going to Hogsmeade, engaging in battle, Allen, and then…. Kanda sat up hurriedly. His vision went black for a moment and stars burst in the darkness. Grumbling, the swordsman listened to his common sense and stayed still until he could see properly again. He was wearing a white shirt. Not just any white shirt, his own white shirt. The one he usually wore on Saturdays or Sundays if he managed to attend service. Instead of the antiseptic smell Kanda associated with Hospitals, his clothes were fresh enough that they still had the clean burnt smell of being pressed neatly.

How long had he been out? Where was Allen? Was he some kind of dead? Who was teaching his students? Kanda mentally berated himself for that last one, this wasn't the time to be thinking about education! Before he could come up with any more questions, the curtain to his bed was pushed aside and Allen stepped in.

There was a moment of silence.

"You're up."

Kanda turned his head away from his so called apprentice. What did you say to someone with whom you had just reconciled? Especially after an indefinite time of being unconscious? Kanda decided to take the safest route available to him.

"Hn." He replied and drew his knees up slightly. They made little mountains under the pristine white sheets. Kanda could feel the cotton sheets against his calves, meaning he was still wearing his pajama bottoms.

"Why am I in my best shirt?" Kanda finally asked. Allen made a little embarrassed sound and rubbed his arm with his free hand. Kanda noticed that the boy had gotten a pair of pretty beige gloves with a little lace pattern on the back of the hands.

"You've been out for quite some time... Madam Pomfrey said it was overwork and cracked ribs and I thought maybe… a little reading would have done you good." The white haired boy confessed.

The equipment exorcist stared at his colleague. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from making a biting remark. Really! The ideas Allen came up with could be so childish! Instead, he forcefully swallowed the retort on his tongue. Idiotic it might have been, since Kanda would be too unconscious to hear it, but the thought was still a nice one. The little brat had even bothered to undress and dress him after all. What harm could it do?

"What were you going to read?" Kanda managed to ask in a polite tone. Allen smiled – a genuine smile – and pulled out a bible from his book bag. The swordsman saw a small A. W. embossed on the leather cover and deduced that it belonged to Allen. Why or how Allen had received it was lost to the Professor because the teen wasn't very religious.

"I was thinking of reading Psalm 23."

Kanda nodded in acknowledgement and shifted so he could lean on the head board. This was a moment of peace, a moment of calm and the exorcist intended to enjoy it while it lasted. What day it was, and what would come next didn't seem very important right now. After all, they were both intact and their identities had yet to be discovered. It could wait a little while longer.

"Read away." He said softly, reclining on his pillow. Allen's face lit up like a bulb on Christmas morning. The parasite exorcist pulled out the chair beside the bed and opened the black book to read.

"The Lord is my Shepherd." He began

Kanda halted him there, raising one hand and turning slightly to look at his junior yet superior.

"Our Shepherd." He murmured. Allen gave him a knowing smile and began anew.

"The Lord is _our_ Shepherd; _We_ shall not be in want."

---

_Author Angst Time_

_I believe that if ever an author(ess) can look at his/her work and say "Damn, I'm awesome" Her name is Stephanie Meyer. (No offense to the fans. =P) Digressing. This chapter is only 7 pages long. I don't want you guys to have to wait too long for the resolution. But I have something with which I can hope to make this up to you guys. Also, this chapter marks the end of all the misunderstanding between the two prota's of this story. :D Let the relationship begin! (I hope)  
_

_This is something I scribbled to illustrate the last scene of this chapter._

_http : //i213. photobucket. com/ albums/ cc116/ popiouiuyuio/ Myart/ Kanda-Allen. jpg_

_Poll time: Shorter chapters, shorter update time OR longer chapters, longer update time  
_


	8. Chapter 8

_8_

_Your encouraging reviews prompted me to write moar. Here's what I decided. I will try my best to write longer chapters and shorten the update time. But for every short chapter, I will draw something for you guys. This chapter was finished and edited in the middle of the night. I don't feel like looking at it anymore so here you go.  
_

---

"I am going back." Kanda declared to the matron present, adjusting the cuffs on his shirt then straightening his collar. It would have been a beautiful Thursday morning if it weren't for the fact that he had awoken to the sounds of students being sick in the hospital wing. Upon asking about the welfare of his students he had been informed of what was happening.

Apparently, his imbecilic students couldn't have petitioned for help or anything to get rid of Madame Umbridge and took it upon themselves to be sick as to get out of class. What an idiotic idea, Kanda thought darkly. If this was how the minds of the new generation worked… Kanda was so glad that he was saddled with Allen. After all, he now knew explicitly that it could have been much, much worse.

The swordsman stood up to reach for his katana but was hit with a wave of dizziness. Allen let out a sound of annoyance and concern then made the man sit down. They both knew that there was no way that Kanda would sit back and let whatever it was going in class right now continue. It was a blatant display of disrespect and Kanda would not stand for it even if the person being disrespected was Madame Umbridge.

"For goodness sakes sit down!" Allen snapped before Madam Pomfrey could say anything. "You're barely strong enough to stand up without falling over." The white haired boy leaned over the professor and poked him in the chest to make his point. Kanda glared back.

"I'm not weak!" He declared. Allen huffed, picking up Mugen and handing it to his "master". Kanda stared at the sword and then at the parasite exorcist, comprehension dawning on him.

"Nothing I say, will keep you here." Madam Pomfrey interjected with a note of disapproval in her voice. She turned to Allen. "You make sure he eats a full breakfast before he goes to teach, you hear me?"

The young General nodded enthusiastically and then turned back to Kanda who was trying to tighten the straps on his boots ineffectively. Someone slammed the doors opened and shouted for Madam Pomfrey. The nurse left with an annoyed harrumph.

On the bed, the Japanese man scowled. His fingers were trembling too much for him to pull on the offending bits of leather properly. He hated walking around in loose footwear. It severely limited his ability to run and jump because he would be trying to keep his boots on. To his surprise, Allen knelt and swatted his hands away then took one toned calf in his hands.

"Well, this is what you get when you skip dinner." He chided the older male. Kanda scowled but did pink slightly. He had totally forgotten about dinner last night when Allen had read several Psalms to him. After Allen had left, the swordsman had lain back and promptly fell asleep again till the next morning. Kanda was still embarrassed about how he had been out for three and a half days because of a simple case of overwork. It was silly, especially since he had been through worse and woken up way sooner.

Allen took hold of the straps holding the boot in place and tugged on it. Kanda felt the leather tighten around his calf and mold to his leg snugly. The white haired teen kneeling at his feet did the same to the other boot, pulling on each of the straps slowly so that they wouldn't be too tight or too loose.

"There." The young General said with a smile. He sat back on his haunches and patted Kanda's knees in an almost affectionate gesture.

"Tha… Thanks." The sword wielder muttered, his face heated up out of embarrassment. He hadn't needed someone to help him put on anything since he was five. This made him feel like a child all over again.

"Professor I heard you were up!" a familiar voice exclaimed as the curtains were pushed aside roughly. Kanda didn't need to look to know that the voice belonged to Miss Granger. Allen turned slightly to give her wave and a huge grin.

Both men had absolutely no idea why the girl turned red, stuttered an apology and backed away quickly. Kanda made a nonchalant shrug, dismissing the odd behaviour as one of Hermione's little quirks and used his boot to kick Allen's foot gently.

"I can't stand up if you're kneeling between my legs." He said bluntly. Allen moved obligingly and stood up. The Japanese man accepted the hand offered to him and let the younger male pull him up. He then strapped his sword to his side with a few practiced moves and straightened his robes. The two made their way out of the hospital wing, oblivious to the strange looks they received from Granger.

---

Neville actually screwed up the courage to buy one of the potions from the Slytherins. Of course, Fred and George already had their supply of skiving snack boxes out but the twins weren't the best at potions and their little candies still tended to have some nasty effects. One of them was uncontrolled laughing after eating the antidote.

The moment Madame Umbridge had walked into their class, Neville swallowed the vial of green liquid and sicked up on the stout woman. The Slytherins in the class had looked at the normally shy boy with expressions of respect and a bit of awe. Neville had just vomited on the most disliked person in the school. Unfortunately for Neville and probably the whole class, he appeared to be allergic to something in the potion because his next round of regurgitation came up bloody.

Hermione sprung into action immediately, helping Neville to stand up and ushering him out of the room. Surprisingly, Pansy followed, vanishing the messes that the shy boy made on the way up.

"Longbottom, are you by any chance allergic to Greenhorn Juice?" Pansy asked calmly. Neville recovered enough to nod weakly. The Slytherin girl sighed and rubbed her forehead, vanishing another mess as she did so. Hermione scowled at Pansy, the other returned the favour.

"You should label the things!" Hermione scolded. Pansy glowered at her.

"We don't leave paper trails." The pureblood sniffed and stuck her nose in the air. Only Neville's hand on Hermione's shoulder prevented her from continuing the argument. The Gryffindor was starting to look a little pale and blue in the lips.

Hermione bit her lip and hastened her footsteps, Pansy following close behind. The two girls pushed the boy in their group into the hospital wing as soon as they reached it, hollering for Madame Pomfrey.

Said mediwitch came bustling out of the curtains at the far end, muttering angrily. Hermione pushed Neville forward and Madam Pomfrey conjured a basin just in time to catch the next round of sick. The matron looked at the bloody liquid with an expression of disapproval.

"Inducing vomit is one thing but inducing blood infused vomit is highly dangerous!" she began. Pansy pushed her way in front of Hermione and interrupted Madame Promfrey's lecture.

"He's allergic to Greenhorn Juice." The Slytherin said simply. The mediwitch tutted.

"What about the antidote?" she asked with a note of disapproval. Pansy clicked her tongue twice.

"There's even more Juice in that. " The pug faced girl said impatiently "It was used to stabilize the other ingredients. It was the only stabilizer that didn't cost a mint and didn't react with the Atlas Atticus wings. People who are allergic to it are one in a thousand."

Madam Pomfrey sighed and handed Neville the basin before bustling over to her cabinet. Hermione gave Pansy an odd look. The Slytherin girl had never sounded so intelligent before. Neville looked very sad as more bloody stomach acid dribbled out of his mouth into the basin. The mediwitch returned with a tray full of potions. She handed them to Neville one by one, and instructed him to drink them one by one, slowly.

The poor boy chugged down no less than ten potions. Blood Replenishing to replace the blood loss, a strong numbing potion to prepare Neville for what was to come, a particularly nasty poison that was usually used to kill pests but contained the neutraliser for Greenhorn Juice, the antidote to the poison, something that resembled goo to repair the damage caused by the poison, more foul looking liquid to repair the stomach lining, some to repair the eosophagus and several others that Madam Pomfrey said were just precautions she had to take.

Neville looked rather ill after he was done and wobbled dangerously when he tried to stand. Pansy looked bored as she used her wand to buff her well manicured nails. The Slytherin also took the liberty of muttering several air refreshening spells as they awaited Madam Pomfrey's verdict. Hermione was very relieved when the mediwitch said that the poor male Gryffindor would be fine.

"But you will spend the rest of the day here." Madam Pomfrey added with a stern look towards Neville, "I don't want any complications popping up. Hopefully, you'll stay. Unlike Professor Kanda." She grumbled.

Hermione perked up at this. The professor was up? She just had to see him and tell him to come back as fast as possible. She didn't think she could handle another moment of Madam Umbridge! The bushy haired girl practically skipped over to the bed at the far end and pushed aside the curtains.

"Professor I heard you were up!"

The girl froze. She stared, lips parted in surprise. Allen was kneeling on the floor at the professor's feet, hands on his knees. Said teen turned and grinned at Hermione, lifting his glove covered hand to give her a wave, looking as though nothing had happened. It took several seconds for Hermione's logic centre to process the information her visual sensory devices provided and come up with a conclusion. Allen between the Professor's legs, him looking up at the professor happily, the blush on the older man's face, the ridiculously cheerful grin Allen gave Hermione….

The Gryffindor put two and two together but ended up with three and a half. The girl stuttered an apology and backed out immediately. Her face felt warm to the touch. Had they been just about to engage in intimate acts? Or had they just finished? Judging by the way Professor Kanda was blushing, they probably just finished. Thank Merlin she didn't bust in a moment sooner!

Could that have been Allen's apology to his master? The foreign teacher did look rather pleased. Well, pleased by his definition of course. Could they have literally kissed and made out or up? The bushy haired girl hurried back to Neville's side. Pansy had already left, having fulfilled her obligation to help the Gryffindor boy.

Just as she reached him, the two aforementioned men emerged from behind the curtains at the far end and then made their way to the exit as if nothing had ever happened. _Maybe, nothing did_. The logical part of Hermione's mind told her helpfully. She bit her lip, she needed more evidence.

---

Whatever Kanda was expecting when he walked through the door of his Defense Classroom could not compare to what he saw. From what Allen told him, he expected students lounging around, dozing, maybe doodling on paper. Of course given that Madame Umbridge was useless, the classroom would be in disarray with the tables all askew and chairs missing their legs. The groans and moans he heard early on should have been warning enough but alas, he didn't take heed of the terrible sounds coming from the classroom and pushed the door open.

A huge puddle of greenish sick on the floor from the door to the teachers table and steadily pooling under the front row was definitely not on the list of things Kanda thought he would see. Alone, it wasn't that bad, the swordsman had seen worse having gutted more than his fair share of creatures. It was the sickening girly pink colour that covered his walls which made him feel ill and regret having a hearty breakfast.

"What." The professor snarled at the class, some of which were vomiting spectacularly on the wall. "Is the meaning of this?" He growled and whipped out his wand. A quick _Evansco_ took care of the sick. Several wand movements later, the classroom was returned to its normal colour and the tables were arranged properly.

Silence fell over the class. Even the two boys that were vomiting in tandem ceased to be sick. Kanda regarded them with a cold air and wrinkled his nose. The stench was unbearable.

"You lot will return here tonight and scrub down this whole room, ceilings included." He snapped. "And you two stop that at once or I'll make you clean your messes with your tongue." He added for good measure. The Japanese man watched with great satisfaction as the two boys hurriedly pulled vials out of their robes and swallowed the contents.

It was then that he noticed that Madam Umbridge was still in the classroom. He turned to her, managing to keep his contempt from showing on his face.

"Thank you for standing in while I was indisposed." Kanda told her politely. "I shall be returning to class effective immediately." His statement was met with a little cheer from the children in the class.

Instead of looking indignant at his blatant dismissal of her, she actually looked a little relieved. The pink clad woman glared at the students then smiled sweetly at the Japanese man.

"I do hope you are up to the task, Professor Kanda. They are quite… a handful."

The students snickered at this but Professor Kanda shut them up with one look. He opened the door and bowed slightly. Madam Umbridge left quickly and the students let out a collective sigh of relief.

Kanda sighed inwardly, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. He turned to the class and rubbed his temples.

"Take your wands out. It's time for a practical lesson."

He was met with blank stares. His students actually gaped at him, not daring to believe their ears. For as long as they had known him, he had been all about getting the theory of spells down pat. Surprisingly, Kanda didn't become as irritated as he would have a few weeks ago. Instead he tapped his wand on the tables and sent them to the sides, clearing a space in the middle. Then, he pulled an animated toad that he had gotten from Professor Flitwick before heading to class. The diminutive man had given Kanda a bewildered expression but helped to charm the clay toad to move anyway.

"Today's lesson: Theory means nothing if the spells don't connect." The swordsman remarked as he set the toad on the floor and activated it with a tap of his wand. He could see the light go on in his student's eyes as they regarded the moving reptile with barely concealed glee. The toad seemed to edge away from the group of teenagers fingering their wands.

"Begin."

Kanda ducked out of the way of a misdirected _Stupefy_ and dodged a _Reducto_ that ricocheted off the window. For a moment, Kanda couldn't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, using a toad wasn't such a good idea. It over excited the students and set the lesson plan back by about three weeks. But as he saw no less than five different spells hit the animated reptile dead-on, he decided that whatever happened should be worth it. Lesson plan be damned too.

---

"Let me out! I said let me out!" Rhode screamed as she banged on the doors of her room. She had no idea what the Earl did but she found herself unable to utilize her powers or do anything except shift from human to Noah and back to human again. The girl was quite put out. Tyki had brought her back after they received news that neither Exorcist was hurt too badly. Rhode had been grounded, told off and now, brought home. The Earl was having important guests over and Tyki had locked her in her room. He told her to keep quiet but she wanted to meet the important guests! She had always been allowed to see the important people.

Sighing petulantly, the girl flopped down on her bed and ran her fingers through her hair. Even her homework had to be more interesting than waiting around for Tyki to let her out. Well, she could ask the twins but they were probably off somewhere performing extremely incestuous displays of affection.

Voices echoed down the corridor and the door clicked open. Rhode sat up quickly, smoothing out her skirt to look presentable.

"Let me introduce you to my darling niece, Rhode!" The Earl's floated through the doorway, sounding quite pleased. The girl in question brightened up immediately and darted to the door to see who stood there.

She looked up, for the person was very tall, taller than the Earl. Her eyes met blood red ones and she forgot to breathe. The paper white skin did little to hide the veins that wove an intricate web inside the body. She raised her fingers, wanting to touch the ridge that should have been a nose.

"Rhode, this is Lord Voldemort!" The Earl said happily. Rhode withdrew her fingers hastily and curtsied as best as she could, happy that she had the foresight to wear her pretty skirt and not pajamas.

"Pleased to meet you!" She chirped. The morbidly alluring man smiled thinly and petted her head.

"What a delightful child." He remarked. Rhode felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Make no mistake, this man was by no means beautiful. In fact he was downright hideous and no doubt the nightmare of many a child. He was bald, pale, much too thin and had next to no nose. Allen's appearance far outstripped this man. Yet, this _Lord Voldemort_ just oozed an aura of death and destruction. He was intriguing, much more interesting. Much much, more interesting.

"Would you like to come and see my dungeons?" Lord Voldemort said smoothly, extending his pale fingers towards Rhode. "I'm all out of prisoners at the moment though." The female Noah took his hand eagerly, almost forgetting her manners.

"Would I ever!"

---

After a few days of bedlam, the normality of having the Japanese professor back was very welcome by all the adults save one. Madame Umbridge found herself pacing her office muttering nasty things about all the students who dared cross her paths.

She knew that all of them had faked their illness, but with no way to prove it, she could not forbid them from going to the hospital wing. She couldn't take the chance that one of them might be really sick. Then Professor Kanda, like the gentleman he was, had stepped in and straightened it all out with a few short commands.

The plump woman sat down in her overstuffed chair and let out a huff of indignance. Still, she couldn't muster up the strength to hate him. She could tell that he did not think much of her if he thought of her at all. Yet the man managed to keep his tone polite and reign in his temper with her, exuding a calm restraint that Dolores couldn't help but admire.

A sigh escaped her lips and she let herself sink further into the chair. Somehow, she couldn't hate him like she did the other professors. Professor Kanda was… kind of nice… to her, and that did not happen often.

Then again, what did he have that she did not? She taught pure theory as he did yet the students gave him more respect. She was just as capable as he was! Dolores thought angrily. This was all the students fault, she decided. She would find a way to make all of them regret ever making fun of her!

---

Comfortable silence reigned in the room, broken only by the clink of cutlery against the plates. The two exorcists present ate slowly, each enjoying the peace and quiet.

"I heard they sent my idiot apprentice off to Scotland." Cross Marian remarked, slicing his lamb into neat little pieces. Opposite him, Winters Soccaro smirked, taking a huge bite out of his rare steak.

"Oh they did. He's posing as the apprentice of Tiedoll's apprentice."

Cross Marian raised an eyebrow but managed not to say anything rude or unbecoming of a General. Allen being sent off on a pair mission with Kanda was something he already heard about, the part where the brat was posing as the long haired brat's apprentice, he did not know at all.

The red head reclined in his chair and laced his fingers together on his stomach. They had never gotten a long. What the hell was the Black Order thinking, sending them on a year long mission? Hah, they were probably at each other's throats right now, snarling insults and botching up the mission.

It wasn't as though Cross Marian had no faith in Allen. He had faith that Allen could execute any mission. Unless it was a mission with Kanda Yuu in the equation. Then it would be shot to hell because those two went together like water and oil.

"I better pay him a visit." The redhead murmured more to himself than his companion. The sadistic man snorted.

"You're coddling him." Winters Soccaro growled disapprovingly. He pointed his fork at Cross Marian and waved it a little. "He's not going to learn anything if you're hovering."

Cross Marian scowled. He loathed to admit it but his sadistic companion was right. Even then, he couldn't shake the urge to check up on his apprentice. Allen had a sort of innocence around him that made you want to protect him. The red head had attempted to curb that urge best as he could, pushing the boy to his limits and sometimes a little too far. Hadn't it done him a world of good? Allen had seen the world and wasn't blind to the darker side of society.

It wouldn't hurt, to check up on the brat. Just to make sure he didn't kill his partner, of course.

---

"He was quite taken with Rhode." The Earl remarked to his long time friend Tyki. The dark haired man frowned and gave the older male a sidelong glance. He did not trust this Voldemort man. The self proclaimed Dark Lord seemed more inclined to stab them in the back and kill off every single one of them. Of course, he would have a hard time doing that but still, it was the principle of the thing. If there was anything Tyki disliked more than the snake like man, it was the thought of Rhode being together with the man.

"I don't trust him." Tyki replied shortly. The Earl chortled.

"Neither do I, but he doesn't need to know that now does he?" The older man laughed as he adjusted his coat in preparation of going out.

Tykie pursed his mouth in disapproval. How could his superior say something like that and still let darling little Rhode go gallivanting off with that… that… vastly inferior being? Tyki would not be surprised if Voldemort turned out to be a pedophile and tried to molest his precious little Rhode. And Rhode, Rhode was so taken with the man, so utterly convinced that Voldemort was interesting and worthy of her attention. Pah, Allen could defeat Voldemort in any poker tournament!

Well it wouldn't happen on his watch, the Noah thought to himself murderously. One wrong move and he would put the _lord_ through hell of the worst kind. He clenched his fists at his sides as the pair in question sat in their garden seemingly chatting away merrily.

One wrong move…. Just one wrong move….

---

"It appears Harry found the Chamber of secrets in his Second year." Allen murmured to Kanda. The pair was sitting quietly in a corner of the library, reading newspaper clippings about the school. There were articles that dated from the late 1800's but most of them were relatively mundane events such as announcements of who had received the most OWL's or NEWT's.

"They have been several attempted robberies on the school." Kanda noted. The newspapers didn't mention what was targeted but Kanda didn't think it was that important. The wards had repelled all intruders with bad intent. There was a brief mention on how all students magical signature were keyed into the wards the moment the headmaster extended his invitation to them. This meant that as long as the headmaster had invited the person into the school the person would be able to enter.

"Do you think that's the innocence at work?" Allen whispered. He folded the newspaper neatly and set it aside.

"Plausible but not probable." Kanda replied, feeling a little irritated and lost. Unlike the previous missions where they had something solid to go upon, this was mostly guesswork. "It's difficult because the headmaster had to find someway to pass on the ability to synchronize with the innocence."

"We should just take a watch or something, run around to find the perimeter, and then head to the centre." Allen huffed.

The two exorcists stopped short. Kanda stared at the younger male and shook his head in disbelief. Allen started to laugh softly.

"I think that was the best idea you've had so far." The Japanese man said wryly as he stacked up the papers neatly to put them away. The young General grinned and stood up. He stretched and yawned like a cat.

Kanda stole a glance at the younger male and found himself appreciating the lean lines of Allen's body. Even though the white haired teen wore several layers of clothing, it was obvious that he was fit and nicely muscled. The way he moved left no doubt about it.

The swordsman could appreciate this fact. After all, he was also one who placed a great deal of importance in being physically well and able. Yet the way his gaze refused to shift from the younger male made him a little uncomfortable.

Allen noticed his companion's watchful eyes and slowly lowered his arms. The boy shifted uneasily, redness arose in his cheeks as he turned to look away. He wasn't a stranger to perverted looks. After all, he had traveled long and far with General Cross when he was younger. The look Kanda gave him was a little appreciating, a little disturbed and slightly affectionate, however out of place it may have seemed.

"So…" The young General broke the silence. Kanda looked away quickly and started putting the papers back where he found them. Allen watched him slide each sheaf into place meticulously and neatly.

"Where can we borrow a watch?"

---

Timcampy was quite happy being invisible, or disillusioned. It suited him perfectly well. Of course he had to go back to Allen and get the spell recast every one or two days but it was an overall awesome spell that allowed him to fly around freely and record things. He spent several days recording useless things like Mrs. Norris hacking up a hairball or Umbridge turning things pink. He even discovered some evidence that would make a few couples blush, or his former master cackle like an old hag. But then, Timcampy decided to turn his golem abilities to better use.

Right now, he was trailing behind the Golden Trio, busy recording their conversation. As far as Timcampy could tell, it was the usual teenage talk about how bad the teachers were, how much homework they had and who they'd like to go out with. Of course, there had been a little Slytherin Slander regarding their peers. The one with red hair seemed to hate the Slytherin with blonde hair passionately. Timcampy snorted to himself in amusement. It was much like the hatred between his current master and the other exorcist.

"He's been quiet, too quiet! I swear that he's up to no good!" The redhead insisted. Timcampy would have chortled if he could. Normally, the golem would have agreed but this was a school for teens. Teens who had short attention spans. Timcampy could safely say that the blonde Slytherin had found something more interesting to occupy his time.

"Ron! Just give him the benefit of the doubt!" the one with the bushy hair exclaimed. Timcampy couldn't stifle his golem snort. The black haired boy whipped around looking suspicious but Timcampy was invisible so that action did nothing to help the trio.

"Yeah Ron, remember how we suspected him to be the Heir of Slytherin in second year?" the dark haired one agreed with the girl. The redhead made a derisive sound.

"Yeah, it turned out to be you." The redhead said, giving the night haired one a sidelong glance. Timcampy did a flip in midair. That was something important, he was sure of it. The golem flapped his wings a little more and hovered closer to the trio.

"You never went back to visit Myrtle did you?" Miss Bushy haired girl accused short dark haired and mysterious. Said boy scowled and grumbled something under his breath about girl's toilets. Timcampy chuffed happily to himself and took off down the corridor, looking for his master. Allen would be mighty pleased to hear about the night haired one finding a chamber in the girl's toilet.

---

Allen was quite happy now. After deciding on a course of action with Kanda, they had retreated to an empty room to practice close combat combined with spell work. The objective of the exercise was to get in real close, close enough to inflict damage with a spell. So far, he had the advantage because he reacted faster than Kanda in terms of unarmed combat. The swordsman's attacks were all parried in a manner that was almost effortless.

Kanda growled as he blocked Allen's fist and delivered a kick of his own. Allen seized the limb and took the opportunity to jab his wand upwards into Kanda's ribs. The swordsman twisted out of the way, his wand aiming for Allen's head as he clenched his teeth and forced out a silent curse. Allen dodged the curse but nearly received a chop to his wrist.

The white haired boy dropped Kanda's leg immediately. The long haired man spun around and closed in to throw another punch. Allen shifted his weight, allowing the punch to extend past his head. The General grabbed the out stretched arm. With a practiced movement, he slid one hand around Kanda's waist and rolled the taller male over his hip.

Kanda landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Now here, the older male had the advantage. He had more battle experience. The Japanese man hooked a leg behind Allen's knee and drew it forward sharply. Allen landed on his knees with a thud. Kanda gasped for breath, reaching for his wand and casting a few minor jinxes at his partner. Allen rolled out of the way quickly, he switched hands and tried to conjure a shield, but before the words could fully form, something batted at his head insistently, causing Allen to mispronounce.

"_Conjurore gliss-des?_" Allen reeled back as what should be Timcampy batted at his face. Something hit his shield and it shattered. Pieces of glass shot in every direction. Out of instinct, Allen invocated and used his arm to shield himself. Across him, a yell of pain and indignation rose from his partner. The white haired General looked up slowly then clapped his hand to his mouth in horror. Kanda stood there, a large piece of glass stuck in his left shoulder and a murderous expression on his face.

"Goodness, I'm sorry…." Allen stuttered. Kanda glared at him, trying to pull the shard out but failing miserably. His finger slipped and he cut himself, resulting in a steady trickle of blood from his finger tips.

The General hurried over to the swordsman, common sense told him to leave the foreign object inside until they found a safe place to remove it and treat the wound. Kanda would not want to go back to the hospital wing and Kanda's quarters were a tad too far. Allen did the most logical thing he could think off and dragged the professor to the DADA classroom.

Allen stripped away the torn remains of Kanda's shirt hurriedly. He examined the wound and was relieved to find that the glass hadn't broken off inside Kanda's shoulder. The presence of the shard obstructed blood flow and prevented blood from gushing out.

"Does this hurt?" he asked worriedly, pressing the skin around the glass. Kanda let out a small hiss of pain.

"I'm bleeding. Of course it hurts!" The older male snapped irritably. Allen winced that was a stupid question but at least no nerves were damaged.

"Okay, I'm going to pull it out on three alright? So just relax." The General said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. He wasn't accustomed to performing first aid, being the one who usually received it.

"_Just get it out of me_!" Kanda all but roared. Allen invocated again, grabbed hold of the offending bit of material and yanked. The resulting howl of pain made Allen cringe. He could see the ragged bits of flesh and muscle that had been torn by the glass. Thinking fast, the teen grabbed Kanda's torn shirt and pressed it to the wound. The swordsman clenched his teeth and used his uninjured arm to hold the cloth in place.

"That's a lot of blood" Allen said a little nervously, looking at the rapidly spreading stain. Kanda gave him a look that would make men made of lesser stuff quiver in fear.

"I just had something as twice as wide as my fist and as long as my forearm shoved into my body unceremoniously." He deadpanned. "I think my bleeding can be forgiven."

Despite the bloody situation, Allen chuckled.

---

"I swear I heard something." Harry insisted. He knew he wasn't going crazy. He could hear flapping at different times of the day. It was infuriating. Sometimes, he even glimpsed gold wings but he could never be sure. Whatever was following them was pretty skillful. He glared at the empty air behind them. He kept telling Hermione and Ron to be more careful with what they said but they didn't really seem to pay attention. Ron gave him a serious look and took him by the shoulders.

"Did Malfoy do something to you?" He asked concernedly. It earned him an exasperated huff from Hermione and a roll of the eyes from Harry.

There it was again! The fluttering of wings! It was getting softer as if fading into the distance! Harry ignored his bickering friends and hurried off in the direction of the noise. It sounded so close yet so far. He wanted to know what it was.

"Wait up mate!" Ron called, running to catch up. Harry brushed him off carelessly, the sound became louder and softer at times, as if it wasn't really sure where to go. Harry followed it half way down to the dungeons, his two best friends trailing behind, before the thing suddenly paused and zipped upwards towards the higher parts of the castle.

Without giving it much thought, Harry chased the annoying beating sound. He almost lost it, the beating of his own heart in his ears becoming loud as the adrenaline pumped through him. So close! He was getting close wasn't he? The sound was getting louder and louder and…

"Harry!" Hermione called. Harry turned for a split second, just to look at the girl. By the time he had waved and turned back to look for the source, it had gone.

There was no soft swooshing, no soft flapping. Silence.

The boy who lived pursed his lips. What a shame, he let it escape. But just to make sure, he walked up and down the corridor a few times, listening carefully for the familiar swish of wings. After a few times, he decided it was enough.

"Come, lets go." He turned around and hooked an arm around both of his friends. Maybe they were right and it was just his imagination. A cursory glance around let him know that they were in a lesser used corridor of Hogwarts. Hermione scolded him for running off recklessly, even though it was only in the castle. Harry made a face at Ron, they had heard this lecture many times.

They turned the corner and into the main hallway. At this time of evening, it was rather deserted. Most people were down in the Great hall eating dinner or in their common rooms doing homework. A crash in one of the classrooms made all three perk up. What was going on? They moved closer.

"Does this hurt?" the voice came from behind the door of the DADA classroom.

The trio shared a look of surprise and curiousity. That was Allen's voice wasn't it?

"I'm bleeding. Of course it hurts!" Another familiar voice rang out, angry and impatient. Hermione mouthed "Professor Kanda" to the other two. What on earth was going on in there?

"Okay, I'm going to pull it out on three alright? So just relax." Allen sounded like he was trying to comfort the older male.

"_Just get it out of me_!"

The trio winced at the volume of Kanda's roar. There was a soft swoosh, the sound of something being pulled of squishy mud and a howl of pain on the professor's part. A brief silence ensued before Allen finally spoke up.

"That's a lot of blood."

At this point, the foreign teacher's response had become too soft for the trio to listen any longer. This time, it was Harry who thought it prudent to stage a strategic retreat and remove themselves from the scene.

---

_Christmas is coming up and I won't be around for it since I'm with relatives. If you guys are interested, here's something for you to do.. Take a picture of yourself in front of the computer with the Fanfiction homepage open on the screen. Remember to smile at the camera! Now scrawl your fanfiction username (include your real name if you're daring) and send it to me at this address: 615, Lorong Keranji4F5, Tabuan Desa Utara, 93350 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Thank you!_


	9. Chapter 9

9

_I only received one photo and I sent that person a little something. ;) (a) I don't own Harry Potter or . (b) This is a slash story. (c) Allen will end up with Kanda one way or another. I'm sorry for the long wait. School took over with a ferocity I didn't know it had. I've been debating with myself whether to put this up or not. I feel like I'm going too fast but nothing is happening._

_Thanks for your support!_

---

* * *

It turned out that taking the Disillusionment spell off Timcampy was harder than Allen thought. Layering spells upon spells – especially ones that hadn't properly worn off – had a fortifying effect on the object. Nevertheless, Allen tried his best to concentrate on breaking his own work while avoiding Kanda's eyes. The other superficial wounds that Kanda had received were healing so slowly, Allen wouldn't have noticed it if he wasn't actively looking for it. The white haired General knew that Kanda didn't heal as fast as he used to but this particular incident was quite mild by their standards. It was disconcerting to know that Kanda was slowly dying. Allen turned his mind back to his task and finally got a bit of Timcampy to show up.

"What was it that you wanted to show us?" Kanda asked, not bothering for Timcampy to fully appear. The golem did a pleased somersault in the air and then opened its mouth to project the image in the air.

A fuzzy picture appeared. The Golden Trio were walking down the hallway, chatting amongst themselves. Kanda and Allen strained to hear the words. They were whispering after all.

"… the heir of Slytherin…."

"… turned out to be you…."

"…visit Myrtle…."

The two exorcists looked at each other. The image of the trio blurred and blinked out as Timcampy shut his mouth. The golem flitted around happily and bumped into Allen's hand to ask him what he thought.

"That was interesting. Thank you, Timcampy." The white haired general murmured and patted his pet. He looked at his colleague. The swordsman was frowning. The crease in his forehead irked Allen and he would have liked nothing more than to have smoothed it out with his fingers.

The name "Myrtle" sounded familiar and the Chamber was one of the rooms that Kanda and Allen intended to scout. If each of the Founders really did contribute a piece of innocence to Hogwarts, it was a likely place for Salazar to have hidden it. It seemed that the name and the hidden room were related somehow though how, the two men didn't know.

"Myrtle?" Kanda voiced his question uncharacteristically. The white haired General shrugged. He too had heard the name somewhere but did not pay it any mind. Try as he may, he couldn't for the life of him remember how the topic was brought up. He knew for certain that it was not anyone of his schoolmates or professors. Allen let his gaze wander around the DADA classroom. It was cold, no nonsense and practical. Exactly like Kanda. A smile crept across Allen's face. Oddly enough, it made him feel a little more comfortable. The bloody glass shard lay to Kanda's side. Said swordsman was still pressing his ruined shirt to his shoulder, murmuring the entire list of people he had memorized.

"McGonagall… Moody…" Kanda gave Allen a thoroughly puzzled look. He could not for the life of him remember a person called Myrtle. Had the Finders overlooked someone? Had he forgotten someone? No, except for Umbridge who was a last minute addition, they had recorded the existence of virtually every student and teacher that was now at Hogwarts.

Allen shrugged helplessly back. Timcampy chuffed exasperatedly and flapped hard at his master's head, annoyed at being ignored. He wanted to get out and spy on someone else! The young General recast the Disillusionment spell on the Golem hastily and watched the golden ball disappear slowly. Both exorcists listened to the quiet sounds of Timcampy's wings getting softer as he flew away.

Kanda stood and wobbled. Allen grabbed his elbow swiftly, steadying the older male. For once, Kanda didn't brush Allen's concern off like a bit of lint. Instead, he let the hand remain there and stood, gazing at Allen with an even expression.

"Stay. At least, till the bleeding stops." Allen said quietly. Kanda regarded him with a look that the General couldn't quite understand.

"What kind of request is that?" Kanda asked irritatedly, blowing a few strands of dark hair out of his face. Allen bit his lip, shaking silently with mirth. Now that he thought about it, it did sound like a mighty odd request. Until the bleeding stops? Yeah, that was definitely a blonde moment. Allen released Kanda's elbow hastily, half expecting the older male to storm off in a huff but to his surprise, Kanda sat back down, even going as far as to making himself comfortable on one of the chairs.

Allen let a contented smile creep onto his face. They might never be best friends but this amicable silence was quite nice. The young marshall leaned forward and gently swatted Kanda's hand away from the wound, taking away the bloodied cloth as well. Stray threads of the shirt stuck to the wound but Kanda didn't say anything. He just let Allen pick out the tiny fibers and then allowed the younger male to gently wipe it dry with another strip of cloth

Tiny silvers of glass could be seen forcing their way to the surface as Kanda slowly but surely healed. The flesh knitted together slowly, cells undergoing mitosis at an unnatural rate. The swordsman showed no emotion on his face as Allen pulled them out with his fingers, getting blood all over his hands in the process.

Allen worked silently, gently removing the foreign objects from Kanda's flesh. The swordsman's skin felt cold under his fingers, bizarrely unmarked despite being hurt so many times before. Allen knew it was because of Kanda's healing power that the swordsman was unblemished but it didn't make it any less weird.

The General worked his way over the expanse of skin, extracting bits and pieces of glass tenderly. He tried to be cool and calm about it but somehow, his fingers lingered a little longer than necessary when they reached Kanda's muscled arms. It was nothing that Allen hadn't seen before during training but being so close in a non hostile environment let him see Kanda in a new light, a new light that Allen desperately wanted to switch off.

Absent mindedly, Allen let the pad of his thumbs brush across the dark imprint of Kanda's tattoo as he moved to check his lower torso. The swordsman seemed to tense and relax at the same time. The action did not go unnoticed but Allen moved his attentions elsewhere as if nothing had happened. He wasn't about to risk their newfound camaraderie for a quick fling. Even if a quick fling was able to be had.

The white haired general moved backwards to give his colleague a little more personal space. To his surprise, he felt Kanda's long fingers grip his shoulders firmly. Allen tilted his head as he looked at the dark haired young man. A multitude of emotions seemed to cross the dark haired youth's face: desire, confusion, disgust, affection, gratitude and worry. Allen bit his lip, not knowing what to say. He settled for leaning in to brush their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.

A smile crept across Allen's face as he felt Kanda relax, closing his eyes. The usual scowl lines disappeared in a blink, making the swordsman look even younger. Allen pulled away slowly, and resumed his task, this time with a smile on his face.

---

* * *

"Sleep on it, Hermione." Ron advised as the girl paced the common room. The bookworm whirled around angrily and stomped over to where Ron was sitting.

"I can't! I just can't help but think about the two of them!" Hermione said angrily. Her two best friends sighed in tandem and rubbed their temples. Oh, Hermione wasn't concerned about the fact that the conversation they had heard sounded like two guys sleeping together. She was more concerned about the fact that they were teacher and student.

"It's no big deal." Harry remarked. Sure, he was a little taken aback by the thought that two of the people he knew were actually gay but it didn't bother him that much. They were only a few years apart after all. Besides, after seeing the existence of the Magical World, nothing really fazed him anymore. Hermione glared at the two of them and sat down in an over stuffed chair huffily.

She was really bothered by it but she didn't really know why. A little bit of resentment bubbled up inside her as she looked at her two best friends, not caring in the least that their professor was fornicating with a student. Really! What was next? Snape and Malfoy? Harry edged closer to Ron, feeling a little nervous under Hermione's intense look. Taking a deep breath, she started to tell them exactly how she felt about their indifference

When Ron realized that Harry was looking rather nervous, he took the chance to pat Harry's knee reassuringly. The dark haired boy placed his own hand over Ron's, gripping it firmly once. They realized belatedly that Hermione's tirade had stopped and that she was regarding them with an air of barely disguised horror and fascination.

"Not you two too?" she exclaimed. Ron and Harry shared a confused look before returning their attention to their female best friend.

"Tutu?" Ron echoed. There was a moment of silence before Harry stuffed his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing and Hermione let out a yell of frustration.

"You two!" She snarled, really incensed this time. It took a moment for comprehension to dawn on Ron's face. Harry removed his hand subtly and shifted further away. He did not want to come between his two best friends. Not especially when they really had something small going on.

"We're not." Ron replied easily. He looked over at Harry and shrugged. Growing up with five brothers, he had witnessed them going through their experimental phases and it didn't bother him all that much. Hermione relaxed a little. Ron stood up and went to hug her.

"I mean, you and I, we're one thing together right?" he asked softly as he held her close. Harry watched his two friends embrace. Hermione's exasperation evaporated and she returned the hug tentatively. It was a while before she replied.

"Yes, we're kind of together." Her voice muffled in Ron's shoulder. Ron shifted and put a little distance between them.

"If I ever wanted Harry in on this, I'd ask you first, you know that?" he said with an air too serious to be a joke.

The silence was deafening. Hermione stared at him as if he had grown another head. Even Harry had to shake himself out of his shock.

"And you're sure he'd say yes?" she asked in a rather strained tone. Ron looked over at Harry. The Boy-Who-Lived bit his lip. Honestly, he thought that Ron and Hermione would always get together and then he'd be left out. It was something that troubled him greatly because the prophesied child had gotten so used to their company that he was always at a loss when they stole a moment away from him. It was their constant presence and support that kept him going. But now, they were asking him to join their relationship? To him, they went everywhere and did everything together already anyway so this wasn't a big deal, but what if Hermione was only being nice?

"I'm alright with it, if you guys are okay with it." He said nonchalantly, picking at the cushions.

There was a pregnant pause in which no one moved and not a word was said. Harry started to think that he should have just vehemently denied any wishes of being in their relationship, no matter how true it was. Thankfully, Hermione let out a soft sigh and nestled closer to Ron.

"I'm a little relieved actually." She confessed. "I was worried about the psychological trauma that Harry would suffer if we officially got together."

The redhead gave Harry a flabbergasted look over his girlfriends head but the Boy-Who-Lived was too busy laughing to see it. Trust Hermione to come up with some kind of textbook theory during a time like this.

The prophesied child stood and made his way over to Ron and Hermione. Silently, he hugged them both from behind, sandwiching Hermione in the middle. A wave of contentment surged over him and Harry found that he was quite reluctant to move.

When Hermione shifted so that they could be closer to one another and Ron hugged them tighter, Harry decided with a warm feeling in his heart that he definitely didn't want to move. Or at least, not in the near future.

---

* * *

It was ridiculously late when Allen returned to the Slythein rooms, robes draped loosely over his shoulders. The fire was still burning in the grate, the embers casting a shadow over the senior students who were still up. Montague was dozing on one of the long couches, an arm dangling off the side, a sixth year was still writing away, scratching out line after line on the parchment.

"You're dirty." A soft voice remarked. It was Irving. The girl stood gracefully, yawning and stretching. Allen looked down at his shirt. In the dim light, it looked as if he had been splashed with mud. Of course if the light intensity were to increase, it would become evident that the stains were not mud. Allen shifted and hid his left hand inside his robes. The sleeve and glove had been torn when he invocated. He needed a new pair of gloves and a new shirt now. It was a pity. The shirt he had been wearing was a silk shirt which Bak had gotten for him. It moved as he moved and was surprisingly cool. The gloves had been a gift from Lavi and Lenalee, purchased on a mission to Egypt. It was made of cotton and felt heavenly against his skin. In hindsight, wearing them to practice hadn't been a good idea no matter how confident he had felt. A smile remained on his face as he remembered the affectionate moment he shared with his partner.

"Allen, are you alright?" Irving's concerned voice broke him out of his reverie. Allen shook himself and straightened. He took assured steps towards the boy's showers, intent on taking a shower before he went to bed. Irving caught his arm as he passed her. She was surprisingly strong for a girl and Allen was forced to stop momentarily.

"Allen?" she asked again. The white haired boy realized belatedly that he didn't answer her question. He tried to move backwards and smiled disarmingly.

"I'm fine." He replied softly as not to disturb the occupants of the room. Irving wasn't so convinced. She sniffed the air once, twice then her eyes narrowed. They swept over Allen's disheveled appearance and fake smile. Her lips drew back in a snarl.

"Blood." She hissed. Allen jerked in surprise and wrenched his arm back. Irving didn't let up, stepping forward to sniff gingerly at Allen's robes. By this time the remaining Slytherins had already perked up to see what was happening. The pureblood girl lunged and snatched Allen's hand up.

The light from the fire bathed his disfigured hand in a warm orange light, making it seem demonic and unnatural. The blonde female didn't say anything, choosing instead to glare at the onlookers. They looked away, acknowledging the dismissal. Only Montague stood and went to stand by Irving's side.

His breath caught as he took in the scales that covered Allen's hand. The cross branded into flesh looked like something only a religious fanatic would do. It had already scarred over so it had to be done a long time ago. Crusted bits of blood flaked off the fingers and floated to the floor, giving it a light dusting of copper. The General yanked back his hand and glared at them for the first time. He hid his hand under his shirt again.

"Should this… be any of our business?" Montague asked, voice quavering just a little. He seemed to be barely restraining himself. Whether from fear or anger, Allen didn't know. He his head away, not wanting to look his school mates in the eye.

"No. It isn't." He replied shortly. He didn't know what he was really expecting them to do but backing away quietly wasn't one of them.

"Just tell us one thing honestly, Walker." Montague said coldly. "Does _Professor Kanda_ have anything to do with this?" The name was spat viciously, as if the boy had nothing but disdain for the older man. Allen lifted his head and stared them in the eye, the glow from the moment he had earlier dissipating quickly to be replaced with anger and defiance.

"No." He said firmly "Nothing."

But somehow he knew that they didn't believe him.

---

* * *

Voldemort was rather preoccupied. What he planned to be a little game of "Torture the Muggle" had somehow turned into a "How to make an Akuma" lesson by Rhode. The child was a pretty thing, with innocent wide eyes and a smile that would give anyone diabetes. That was until she literally turned to her dark side. The self proclaimed Dark Lord could safely say that he had never felt such pedophilic yet fatherly intentions towards anyone before.

"When they call out the name of their beloved, the soul will return." Rhode babbled on happily, pointing happily at the various Akuma that served in the mansion. They were indeed fascinating, Voldemort thought, having the kind of beauty only their mother would love. However, it was not them which held his interest but rather the Noah's themselves.

The Noah family had restarted the world once, after the great flood. They wanted to start it again after forty days and forty nights of chaos. It would only be brought about by the destruction of the Innocence.

Voldemort had no illusions about their little alliance. He was nothing more than a pawn to them and he didn't fancy himself a knight. His sanity had returned to him little by little after his stint as a spirit. Having a body was less harrowing than floating around. It put a lot of things in perspective.

The Noahs would use him and he would use them. They would clear the way across the chess board so that he could advance and perhaps take on the role of the queen. Through them, he could gain power. When that power had been gained, he had no qualms wreaking havoc as they wanted. After all, what was power if you didn't get to use it? They could easily sacrifice him in their little game of chess as they could help him advance. Most people would have been unsettled at the thought but Voldemort felt no more than a tingling of excitement.

"Are you listening?" Rhode asked petulantly, dragging the Dark Lord out of his internal musings. The man petted the girl's head affectionately and gave her a smile.

"Of course I am, child." He replied. Rhode's face lit up with a happy grin.

"Can I torture some of your prisoners?" she asked. Voldemort couldn't stop the smirk that tugged at his lips. This was truly a girl after his own heart. However, he couldn't stop the unnatural feeling that surged up within him.

"Not before dinner child, you might dirty your pretty dress." He said indulgently, taking her tiny hand in his own and leading her towards the darker side of the dungeons. Rhode pouted and sulked but let herself be led.

"Now cheer up. I've a nice surprise for you. It's called a Boggart and I think that you'll like it very much." Voldemort cajoled, something that he thought that he would never ever do. The dark haired girl smiled again, crosses appearing across her forehead as she slipped into her alter-ego.

"How wonderful!"

Voldemort didn't bother to hide the satisfied smile that spread across his thin face. This girl, truly intrigued and interested him. She was almost… almost a daughter. His smile widened.

---

* * *

_"Stay away from Professor Kanda." _

The short order had been passed down from the top of the Slytherin table right to the bottom within a few seconds. No one had questioned the seventh years who had issued the order, after all, the older students did know best didn't they?

Irving was quite worried. She had never been in a situation where a professor had been suspected of seriously harming a fellow schoolmate and friend. At first glance, both transfers had seemed odd but likable and respectable in their own strange way. However, having a classmate turning up in the middle of the night covered in blood was anything but reassuring. Especially when it was common knowledge that said classmate was always in the company of a professor that seemed extremely abusive.

Allen refused to speak about it, saying that Professor Kanda had forbidden him to speak about his eye and his arm but his arm was a birth defect. Honestly, anyone who saw the arm would think it was total and utter bull. No one could be born with such a perfect cross shape branded into the flesh. It had to have been done intentionally and it definitely had to hurt. The only reason why the white haired boy would be forbidden to speak about it was if the professor had done it. Why else would Professor Kanda ban him from talking about it?

Speak of the devil. The teen appeared at the staff table, looking immaculate as usual, down to his white gloves. He greeted all the teachers politely, even Madame Umbridge, and then waited for Professor Kanda to finish before helping the older man to get up and leave.

The long haired male had brushed off his apprentice rudely, barked something in Japanese and stalked off angrily. Allen didn't seem fazed at all, following closely behind looking every bit the obedient apprentice.

Irving pursed her lips angrily and gave Montague a sidelong glance. So far, they had kept it to themselves. All the Slytherins that had been present last night had been warned to keep their mouths shut. It was an unwritten rule that they weren't allowed to meddle in other people's business, especially since their meddling might cause the other to get killed. Then again, there was no rule against keeping others under close scrutiny.

"Is something the matter?" Irving watched as their head of house smoothly stopped a fourth year and asked in deceptively soft tones. The quirk of his eyebrows let Irving know that he knew that something was wrong. The fifth year stared back levelly and then let his gaze flick over to the seventh years before coming back to rest on the professor.

It happened quickly but was noticeable enough for anyone watching to see. Professor Snape's lips curled into a sneer and he allowed the boy to go. The gesture was unmistakable; he understood that the seventh years had something to do with the way everyone seemed to be on guard. He glared at the entire Slytherin table, making several first years shiver in their seats.

"I see." He said softly, seemingly to himself. Irving knew that he was talking to her. She lowered her gaze demurely and avoided looking at the door through which Kanda and Allen had left.

The professor spun on his heel and strode out of the great hall.

---

* * *

So far, no one had known what a Boggart's real form looked like. Voldemort had a fleeting suspicion that he would find out when it came face to face with Rhode. The creature had been locked in a cupboard for ages. When it popped out in front of Voldemort, it had assumed the form of a graveyard but the Dark Lord had dispelled that illusion with a wave of his wand. It retreated away from him and headed to Rhode in a mass of inky blackness. It enshrouded her briefly, seeming to wonder what she was afraid of before shrinking into an eagle.

To Voldemort's surprise, the normally fearless girl hid behind him quickly and pouted. She glared at the enormous bird of prey and made shooing gestures at it.

"I don't like big birds." Rhode clarified as Voldemort banished the creature back into the cupboard. She hugged him round the middle, a gesture that Voldemort had never in his life felt before. Then she looked up at him, eyes shining with mischief.

"You know, I've always wanted to see what the Earl was afraid of." She hinted. The Dark Lord had to check himself at that point and stop himself from agreeing immediately. To his private embarrassment, he felt the urge to indulge Rhode's every whim, a fatherly instinct, he supposed.

"Now then, I don't think he'd appreciate it if we set it on him." He replied smoothly and ushered her out of the room. Rhode turned her puppy dog eyes on him. It didn't work because Voldemort was quite impervious to such attacks. She pouted and folded her arms across her chest in a display of childish immaturity. The Dark Lord gave her a tiny squeeze round the shoulders and smiled.

"Why don't you pick someone else?"

The smile that lit up the childish face made Voldemort feel uncomfortably warm all over. It was worth it, he supposed, when Rhode reeled off a list of people that she wanted to see scared.

---

* * *

Kanda felt that something was wrong. Aside from the pain that lingered in his shoulder and the aches all over his body, he felt that something was very wrong. It had something to do with the way all the Slytherins shunned him in the hallway, not bothering to greet him with a simple 'Morning' or 'Hello'. He suspected that it had something to do with Allen – of course it did! Everything came back to Allen somehow! Then again, he wasn't sure what had happened.

The white haired General kept acting as if there was nothing wrong, playing the part of an obedient apprentice a little too well for Kanda's liking. Allen had fussed over the swordsman needlessly after last night, asking if it still hurt anywhere, if he was still bleeding, if the wound had closed properly.

Speaking of last night, Kanda wasn't quite sure why he stayed and allowed his colleague to help him. Under normal circumstances, he would have left as soon as he was possible. Yet, the soft request from Allen had prompted him to sit down and allow said teen to tend to his wounds. The tenderness that Allen had exhibited in regards to extracting the glass and speeding up the healing process had touched Kanda more than he cared to admit. It was rare that someone had the chance to do this for him. Usually, Kanda would be left alone to heal by himself simply because he was capable of it. No one ever paused long enough to treat the tiny scratches, cuts and bruises he received.

The swordsman had let Allen touch him in ways no one had ever touched. He had watched as mismatched fingers trailed his skin, pulling at the debris that had gotten stuck in flesh. Allen probably didn't know that Kanda had been watching him and Kanda did not intend on ever telling the younger male. The more time they spent together, the more Kanda found that he enjoyed the younger man's presence. The instance where Allen's fingers had grazed his tattoo just a fraction of a second longer had made him feel unnecessarily warm. It was a reaction that was embarrassing and completely unanticipated.

As if realizing his discomfort, Allen had moved back but Kanda's hands had moved on their own accord and gripped the shoulders of the younger boy. He couldn't even decipher his own feelings. He felt disgusted by this attraction. It was against his religion. He couldn't deny the growing affection and concern he felt for his colleague. They had a strange symbiosis going on after all. He was confused, not knowing why he felt this way or when his dislike of the teen had turned into desire. The desire he felt was slow burning in his chest, a need to keep the boy close and shelter him. He was thankful that Allen did not push him away and shun him. Yet he was worried that this closeness would affect their mission.

Allen seemed to solve all that in a mere second. The white haired boy leaned in and nuzzled Kanda's nose affectionately. All Kanda could think of in that moment was how nice the boy smelled under the sharp metallic scent of dried blood. It was comforting. The swordsman had instantly relaxed. It was an odd feeling but not unwelcome.

_'Bastard'_ Kanda was roused from his inner musings from the word hissed at him. He spun on his heel only to see a gaggle of girls walk past. He had no idea who had said it but he was well aware that it was one of the Slytherins. He had no idea what he had done to incur their wrath so early in the morning. Allen had not mentioned anything that was important and said that everything was fine. The swordsman trusted his colleague, after all, Allen was experienced enough to know when something was fine or not.

The niggling feeling at the back of his mind continued. It was the kind of feeling that he had when things were about to go wrong in a totally unexpected way. For perhaps the first time in his life, Kanda Yuu the swordsman of the Black Order, ignored the feeling.

---

* * *

Allen was nervous. He had kept the previous night's incident a secret from Kanda. He believed that his schoolmates would not pry into his business. Or, if he knew them well enough from the few weeks he spent with them, they would not pry into his business in an obvious way.

Aside from shunning Kanda in the hallways and giving him the silent treatment during Defense Against the Dark Arts, his fellow seventh years did nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, Kanda could feel the difference; he wouldn't be much of a warrior if he didn't. Yet he chose to act as if nothing was wrong either. Was this going to go on forever? With both sides pretending as if nothing was wrong? Slytherins had a natural sense of self preservation and Kanda was cautious by nature. It was a never ending circle of caution, deceit and half truths.

The white haired boy kept his expression carefully neutral as Irving brushed past him on her way to her seat. She plonked her books down angrily and sat down behind him. Professor Snape scowled at the both of them but more at Allen, as if it was his fault that Irving was in a bad mood. Allen felt the corners of his mouth quirk up in a grim smile. It probably was. He felt her gaze on the back of his head and shifted uncomfortably.

"Today, we'll be brewing a highly volatile potion called Ascaris. No, it has nothing to do with the worm Mr. Weasleys." The dour face professor said in his silky tones. The dark gaze landed on the young General. Immediately, he knew that he wasn't going to like what Professor Snape was about to say.

"It's used primarily to aid in the recovery of scars. Particularly scars that were created a long time ago." The professor's eyes seemed to pierce right through Allen. Allen stared back evenly, panicking on the inside. Someone must have said something. This couldn't possibly be a coincidence. Why else would the professor have them make something to heal scars directly after someone found out about his arm?

The white haired boy shifted ever so slightly to glare at Montague who was sitting two seats away next to a Gryffindor girl. Someone must have told the Potions Master. They had seen the other scars on his arms and reported him to the professor. Yet if it was so, why wasn't the sarcastic man descending upon him like the apocalypse? Was he watching for a reaction?

Allen breathed deep and smiled as he cracked open his potions book and read the instructions. _Ten carotid arteries, seven pairs of Poppy seeds (crushed not ground), enamel from a tooth, feather of a Mandarin Duck and running water. _He picked up his wand and shakily cast all the no tampering spells he knew on it. With assured and confident steps, the white haired teen stepped into the storage room and started to gather the ingredients he needed. He heard the twins whispering not far off, a seventh year Gryffindor whom he didn't know was busy measuring out the enamel.

The general relaxed just a little. He could do this. He could pretend that nothing was wrong. When people believed that, they would leave him alone, wouldn't they?

Part of him wanted to pour out everything to Kanda. Another part didn't wish to burden Kanda with the problem. Allen deliberated for a few seconds as he waited for another student to pass him the feathers. He would compromise. If this fiasco didn't blow over within three days, he would ask Kanda to help.

--

* * *

It was lunch. So far, no one had noticed anything different. Usually, Harry would make sure that there was a slight gap between Hermione and himself when they walked together, especially if Ron was around. However, since they had quietly and unofficially become a love triangle, there was no need for Harry to beware of being too close to Hermione. He had taken the chance to sidle up next to her, as close as possible.

The dark haired girl seemed to have forgotten last nights debacle completely and was doing her very best to eat and read at the same time. She was so preoccupied that she didn't really notice when the two boys flanking her started to take turns guiding food to her mouth. The action drew a few stares but it was nothing out of the ordinary for Harry. He was used to being the object of attention no matter how much he hated it. Their relationship had to come out sooner or later and he would rather it be sooner instead of later. That way, people had more time to get used to the idea.

"Potatoes, Mione." Harry murmured to the bushy haired girl. Said girl opened her mouth absent mindedly, turning the page of her Arithmancy book with one hand, spoon completely forgotten in the other. The two boys shared an amused look over her head.

This drew more stares than ever, particularly from the Hufflepuff table which was rather close to theirs. The whispers started almost immediately.

"Apple tart" Ron announced, oblivious to the staring as he pinched a portion off his tart and put it near Hermione's mouth. The girl paused in her reading to eat the morsel. A shadow fell over her book, blocking her light. Annoyed, the witch turned to glare at the person – or in this case: persons – who were doing it. Ron groaned slightly at the sight of the twins. Even Harry had to sigh. As much as he liked the twins and enjoyed their sense of humour, they really didn't know when to quit.

"Aww!"

"Is"

"Ickle"

"Ronniekins"

"Sharing"

"His"

"Girlfriend?"

"With _the_ Harry Potter?" they chorused loudly. If there was anyone who wasn't already watching the Golden Trio, that sentence ensured that they were now. The Trio froze as one, unsure of how to answer the question. The grins on the twins faces slowly turned into looks of horror as they realized that the silence was actually confirmation of what they thought could never happen. The conversation at the table died slowly as the implications of what just happened sunk in slowly. Hermione was the first to recover.

"So what?" Hermione asked tartly, picking up her fork to snag Ron's apple tart. "It's not a crime if we are having a three way relationship." She said defiantly. The silence at their table caused even the Slytherins to look over at their table. Neville was the one to break the silence.

"Congratulations." He said quietly with a smile. Murmurs of congratulations broke out along the table as the Gryffindors awkwardly tried to turn their attentions elsewhere but were intrigued by the dynamics of the trio's relationship.

"Um… so… who tops?" Collin Creevey asked from his place two seats down. The ensuing laughter diffused the awkward situation immediately. The trio sighed in tandem, relieved that their schoolmates were taking it better than anticipated.

Unbeknownst to them, Timcampy was recording everything from high up. He flapped his wings in glee and hastily flapped off to find his master. This was too, important. He was sure of it.

* * *

_AAAAAAARGH_

_That is all._


	10. Chapter 10

_10_

_There's something wrong with me and I don't know what. I forget things too easily ;.; I was going to April Fools you guys but I couldn't bring myself to prank my readers. I also moved this story from the stories to crossovers._

---

Dumbledore was not easily disturbed. After all, he had seen a great many things and solved a great many problems. However, rumours of an unknown factor becoming Voldemort's ally had reached his ears and caused him a great deal of unrest. Who was this Earl, who had so readily agreed to aid Voldemort in his quest? He had heard no news of Voldemort contributing anything to the deal. It was almost as if this Earl had approved of what Voldemort was doing and decided to become a patron just like that.

It worried the headmaster, the way this new patron seemed to approve of all the death and destruction, encouraging Voldemort to kill as he pleased. It was hair raising to think that even if they did stop the Dark Lord, there might be another force, stronger and darker that would just take his place. It was very sobering.

Never mind that right now, the Order of the Phoenix was gathering intelligence on the new ally. What he was concerned about now was the underlying chaos within Hogwarts. He should have known that his students would not be able to mind their own business. Rumours were flying regarding the foreign duo. Of course, none of the students told him directly, but that was why he lined the halls with portraits. They reported back to him regularly, sharing bits of gossip that might or might not be important.

"Allen was abused!" cried Lady Rose from the corridor on the seventh floor, rousing Dumbledore from his inner musings. "I heard sounds of an altercation in one of the rooms." She whispered conspiratorially to the woman in the next portrait. "After which, Allen emerged from the room limping." The Victorian woman nodded solemnly.

"Professor Kanda bottoms!" The frame across the room insisted. "I heard a very naughty conversation between the two in which the older man told Allen to do it harder." The wizened old man chuckled and rubbed his oil painted forehead. "Kids these days, always experimenting."

"They're secretly pagans." Tolen the Deaf Knight added and brandished his sword menacingly. "Often times when I read their lips, I see that they're talking to an invisible thing which gives them answers." He nodded sagely.

The headmaster rubbed his temples as more portraits decided to voice their opinions. The cacophony of voices agitated the old man's headache even further. Sometimes, he regretted giving the portraits free run of the paintings. It was disturbing when they came back with tales of misdemeanours and rendezvous of the staff and students. Even more so when the stories clashed.

"Quiet please!" Dumbledore raised his voice. The portraits fell silent, looking a little ashamed of themselves, after all, the headmaster never shouted. The esteemed man steepled his fingers contemplatively, gazing at the only portrait who had yet to say anything, Kiyoko.

The Japanese witch sat demurely on the painted chair in the frame, ankles crossed daintily, eyes lowered in mock shyness. The only reason she had been picked to be the portrait leading to Professor Kanda's room was that she could understand Japanese. The portraits of Hogwarts served a purpose and that was to preserve the safety of the school by keeping tabs on the students and staff. The kimono clad woman tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and waited a moment of silence before starting to speak.

"Professor Kanda is a very methodical and religious person." Here she paused as if compiling the information in her mind. "He gets up at five each day and prays. Allen shows up shortly after that and then they leave for another room. At six thirty, both of them return, sometimes injured. Allen then dines in Professor Kanda's rooms while the professor himself has breakfast at the Great Hall." The sentence drew a great many confused looks from the other pictures but they wisely stayed silent as Kiyoko proceeded.

"Allen eats almost every meal in the Professor's room and has his own password. Most days, Professor Kanda retires to his rooms directly after dinner and proceeds to mark his papers. Certain days, he oversees detentions. Those are the times when he returns late." The dark haired witch frowned.

"Certainly he is close with his apprentice and eerily so, however I sense no ill will from either of them." She pinned Dumbledore with her dark eyed gaze. "I would still advise you to be wary."

The headmaster drew in a deep breath, not really wanting to know why Kiyoko was so wary of the pair.

"Why is that so, Kiyoko-san?" he asked politely. The witch shifted uncomfortably.

"He uses ancient spells." Kiyoko bit her lip nervously and wrung her hands. "Inconsistent with his age. At first, I thought that he might have had an experienced teacher. However that is not the case as he doesn't seem to know some simple spells at all." The portrait stopped abruptly and looked at Dumbledore with a worried expression.

"You should know, headmaster. The wand he's using isn't his."

There was a hushed silence at this. It was practically unheard of for a teacher to use a wand unsuited for himself, especially in subjects such as Defense where a slight resistance from the wand might be fatal.

"It's slowly starting to resist him more and more. Allen's too." Kiyoko added. She cocked her head to one side and slid out of the chair. "Allen's outside. I'll have to go let him in." She excused herself quickly and hurried out of the frame.

Dumbledore watched her go. Now this posed another problem. How was he going to make Kanda and Allen get new wands without letting on that he knew about them? He still had to figure out which story he was going to believe. This was perhaps one of the few times that the portraits had been wholly unable to provide an accurate picture of what was going on in the school.

---

"You're pretty." Jasdero tugged at Bellatrix's hair gently, admiring the gentle way it fell about her shoulders and framed her face. His twin nodded in ascent. The woman scowled and pointed her wand at them.

"Make fun of me one more time and I swear I'll…" She was cut off by Debitto's playful fingers pinching her cheeks.

"We're very serious." They chorused, running their fingers through her hair simultaneously.

"I'm married!" the death eater squawked indignantly, batting their hands away and stomping over to stand by her most revered Lord. Voldemort was reclining in a tall backed chair, watching his death eaters get acquainted with the Noahs and the various Akuma they utilized. So far, the two groups had taken a great liking to each other and were talking quietly in the hall.

The Earl was absent yet again, probably off making more akuma. The man seldom met with Voldemort, instead passing messages to the wizard by Akuma or one of his family. It was wearing thin on the Dark Lord's nerves but then again, he had Rhode to accompany him. The child was currently teasing one Lucius Malfoy about his blond hair and fair complexion and asking him if he had a son. Lucius didn't seem to keen on letting the girl know about Draco but was under obligation to be nice to her.

"Child, what do you want to do?" Voldemort asked lazily, tapping his wand against his fingers lazily. He couldn't help getting a little restless. This was by far the longest time that the Death Eaters had been quiet. They hadn't made any huge moves on the political or social front, choosing to gather more followers in the dark and rally a support.

Rhode toyed with the edges of her nice dress. It hadn't been an hour since she gotten here and it was already stained with questionable fluids. Voldemort noted that it was most probably from Pettigrew since Rhode had taken a great liking to pulling his tail in rat form. She had probably pulled it off this time. Not to worry, Severus would put Pettigrew's tail back on for him if that happened. The dark lord smiled at the morbid thought and gestured for the little girl to come closer. She grinned as she skipped up the stairs and sat on the arm of Voldemort's chair.

"I felt like flooding the Forbidden forest with Akuma so I could see what was inside." The female Noah chirped happily. Then her face fell and she pouted. "But Tyki wouldn't let me."

The urge to coddle arose immediately. Voldemort rested his chin on his hand and hmm'ed softly, wand twirling in the other.

"You know, I've always wondered that myself." He commented blandly. "I supposed I could send them instead." He got up languidly and looked over the milling crowd. Tyki wasn't around. Voldemort gave Rhode a small smirk as he quietly slipped away to command the Akuma.

---

"You sure this will work?" Komui's voice crackled softly from the golem hidden in Kanda's coat. Kanda huffed and adjusted his sword again. It had been ages since he had worn his battle uniform. It was slightly lighter due to the removal of all the silver emblems but it was still a relief to wear it once again. Leaves crunched under his boots as he maneuvered his way into the beginnings of the underbrush in the Forbidden Forest.

"You think we can be sure?" surprisingly it was Allen who replied in a rather sarcastic tone. Komui didn't have to say anything. His silence was enough to let the two exorcists know that he was displeased. Something moved in the trees and both men turned to look. A tail flicked out of sight in the dimming light.

"It has been more than a month since you got there." The supervisor said in a neutral tone. Kanda snorted and Allen rolled his eyes, like they wouldn't know how much time had passed. A bird chirped not far from where they stood, it was a soothing sound.

"We know." Kanda said, fingering the watch that he had purchased via mail order. It wasn't ticking yet.

"It's hard." Allen added quietly. He looked at his colleague who was still studiously avoiding his gaze, and looking at the device in his hand. More silence. Something rustled through the bushes by Allen's foot and scuttled across the forest floor.

"Well then, Godspeed."

Kanda couldn't really be sure but he could have sworn he heard a faint 'we miss you' before communications were cut off completely. It was very risky, communing like this on Hogwarts grounds, or more specifically in open air where anyone could hear them but they were running out of time and they really needed to get going.

"North first." Allen said quietly. Kanda raised his head and looked into the rapidly darkening forest. He hated traveling at night but this was unavoidable. The swordsman touched his sword once again, trailing his finger across the scabbard. They met cloth halfway. Kanda looked down only to see Allen's gloved fingers resting gently against his.

The white haired teen didn't say anything but the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. He drew his wand and concentrated very hard until a ball of white light formed at the time. Kanda watched as it slowly detached itself from the wand and floated above their heads.

"Let's go." The General mouthed. Kanda's eyes followed the movement of those lips, graying in the shadow of the leaves. He wanted to say something, something uplifting or encouraging but somehow, the words caught in his throat and made him choke. The swordsman settled for a soft word that conveyed everything he wanted to say and more.

"Che..."

Allen's mouth twitched into a complete smile as he took off running. The brunette stared after him for a few seconds before smiling to himself and giving chase. Tonight, they wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts.

---

"How many are there?" Lord Voldemort asked languidly, surveying the mass of weapons assembled in the dungeons.

Silence. One of the lesser ones counted the beings.

"I'd say a hundred or so Ones and about fifty Twos. Perhaps a handful of shape shifting Threes." It replied.

"Perfect." Voldemort turned to smile at Rhode. The girl grinned happily as The dark Lord ruffled her hair and pinched her cheek in affection.

"Send them out to the Forbidden Forest and bring back a carcass or two, preferably a centaur."

Voldemort smirked as his darling child cheered. He wasn't really sure about when he had started to think of her as a child but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, Rhode seemed to look up to Voldemort as a second father.

The higher Akuma seemed to be quite annoyed to be receiving such orders. Nevertheless, the Earl had commanded them to obey this man and obey him, they would.

---

"You won't believe what they just did." A third year Slytherin burst into the common room and said breathlessly. The fifth years and above perked up immediately. One look let them know exactly who the third year was talking about, after all, there were only two people that the Slytherins were concerned about right now.

"What?!" Irving said, half getting out of her chair in anxiety. She was concerned for her classmate even if he had declined all help. The third year bit his lip.

"I was helping Professor Sprout move a plant out from the Greenhouses when I saw them enter the Forbidden forest." He said in a hushed whisper. Rumours of what the professor had done to Allen had not been easy to contain within their own house, especially with students who were used to getting whatever they wanted with various means.

"And when was this?" Pansy prompted gently. The third year looked torn between telling the truth and making up a story. Finally he relented.

"I had to finish moving the plants. I'd say two hours ago?"

The seventh years looked at each other and got up quickly. Several sixth years whom had been present at the time when Allen had returned covered in blood disappeared into their rooms. A variety of items were collected and handed over to Montague wordlessly within a minute or so. Two invisibility cloaks, a scent nullifier, miscellaneous potions, a bottle of Ever-Brightness, blankets, protection amulets, Haste charms and a portkey were solemnly deposited in a bottomless bag. Chocolate was added after a moment of deliberation and then the bag's mouth was tied shut.

"Not a word of this." Montague whispered as he tapped himself on the head and slowly disappeared from sight. Canes did the same with a final warning glare at everyone present. The portrait hole opened and closed as the two left. Irving sat down, feeling apprehensive. The blonde sighed and lifted her quill. Setting it on the parchment, she began to forge two rather haughty letters from Montague and Canes' parents, insisting that they return home to finish some family matters.

---

"It started ticking." Kanda said in a hushed voice. Indeed, the second hand had started to move sluggishly. Allen peered over his shoulder and tapped the device with his forefinger. They had a moment of silence in which they couldn't believe that it had actually somewhat worked.

Allen breathed out noisily and stretched his limbs. They hadn't been moving for very long. Of course, at the speed that they were used to, they could cover quite a bit of ground. Moon beams shone through the canopy where the leaves had failed to grow. Allen moved away and looked at their surroundings. The trees grew closer together, as if banding together to keep intruders out and residents in. He turned to call to Kanda but hesitated.

A look of satisfaction and contentment had bloomed on Kanda's face. It was visible since Kanda happened to be standing in one of the moon beams. It would have looked like any other scowl to another person but to Allen, it was a scowl of happiness, the kind that said 'Finally! results.' The General stayed quiet, watching the moonlight dance over Kanda's raven hair. The older male was truly beautiful. The youth and looks he had were preserved by the lotus, both a curse and a blessing. Allen shivered to think of Kanda upon his death bed, still young and unmarked, while his loved once died of old age.

Rustling in the trees drew their attention. Voices could be heard. Both exorcists tensed as a human head came into view...

…and was followed by the body of a horse.

Even though Allen and Kanda had both been aware of the things that they might encounter in the forest, meeting a centaur certainly didn't compare with the books. The half-human had his bow notched and arrow drawn, ready to let it fly. Allen could see several more of them gathering behind the first, all looking very angry and anti-social.

"We do not allow humans in our territory." One of them growled. To Kanda's credit, the swordsman said nothing, only clutching the watch tighter. He calmly tucked it in an inside pocket and showed them his hands palms up.

"We mean no harm." Allen interjected quickly. He looked from his colleague to the centaurs. He recognized that stance, it wasn't as placating as it looked to be. Kanda could draw his sword in a second and the General didn't really want that to happen.

"We're just looking for the ward boundaries of Hogwarts to study them." Allen continued, trying his best to look innocent, naive and flustered. Kanda still had his impassive look about him but the swordsman took several steps closet to Allen, ignoring the weapons pointed at him.

The centaurs seem to commune amongst themselves, whispers rippling through the group. A consensus was reached after several of them consulted the stars and then looked to both Kanda and Allen. Slowly, the bows were lowered but not all the way. It was a sign that they were willing to listen although they were wary.

"My name is Allen Walker and he's Yuu Kanda." The General blundered on, feeling a little relieved that Kanda wasn't as trigger happy as he used to be. In fact, the swordsman had relaxed himself almost completely and come to stand slightly in front of Allen. "I'm a student at Hogwarts and he's the Defense Professor." Words spilled from his mouth easily with a confidence that had charmed many people. He took their silence as silent encouragement and was about to go on when someone interrupted him.

"Yuu, Kanda." The centaurs had become very interested in the swordsman. In fact, most of them had shifted their attention to the brunette. The name seemed to cause them to become wary immediately. Whispers broke out

"His name means God's Field is Good." One hissed.

"But he reeks of death and destruction!"

"The stars speak of the things he has done."

"The fruit he bears is rotten."

Kanda had stiffened. Allen could see fingers tightening on weapons and couldn't help but gulp. They needed to avoid conflict if anything was to be done. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be heading that way.

"The bad branches have to be pruned." One centaur cried out. He raised his bow and drew back the string sharply. Kanda drew his sword in a split second and deflected the arrow, sending it into the tree. The two apostles of God turned tail and ran amidst the flurry of arrows.

Pain lanced through Allen's arm as one of the wooden shafts found its mark. He grimaced and continued running. Kanda ran beside him and yanked out the arrow, hissing a healing spell as they ran. The wound only closed partially as the wand failed to respond. Kanda cursed as they leapt through the foliage and ducked amongst the branches. The centaurs were behind them somewhere, they could hear hooves thudding against the earth.

A spear struck the ground where Kanda had been merely seconds before. He yanked it out and twirled, hurling it back at their pursuers. A cry of pain put a satisfactory smile on his face. Allen grabbed his arm and tugged hard, urging him to run faster. The swordsman complied, hastening his footsteps and ignoring the countless scratches and cuts he received from running through the forest.

The pounding of blood rushing in Allen's ears did nothing to stop him from realizing the quiet part of the forest they had entered. Something huge moved in the shadows beyond them. It was certainly taller than Kanda and its many legs moved past them, heading towards the centaurs.

A dismayed cry went up amongst the centaurs. Several shouts were heard and a scream of pain echoed through the forest. Allen slowed, turning his head to look. A mass of black obscured their path back. Kanda stopped abruptly and Allen ran into his back.

Everywhere, from the top of every tree to the bottom of every stone, spiders emerged. They circled and prevented the two exorcists from running away.

"Kanda…." Allen whispered. The many eyed creatures stared them down unblinkingly. It was unnerving. The swordsman gripped Allen's hand firmly once for encouragement and then dropped it like he had been scalded. The General chanced to look up. Even all the branches were covered with the arachnids.

"What is it you want?" This time, it was Kanda who spoke up. Allen had the urge to laugh. They were spiders, what did they know? From the darkness of the woods, eight huge eyes blinked at them. Legs extended, pumping to carry the heavy body forward.

It seemed to scrutinize them closely. Allen could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing.

"You are…. In my forest." It rebuked them sternly. Kanda actually managed to turn red out of embarrassment. He muttered an apology and gave the creature their names while Allen tried not to gape. He was trying his best not to move especially since there was a huge spider not more than 6 inches away from his shoulder, sitting on a branch with its pincers opened wide. The creature made several clicking sounds and then introduced itself.

"Why did you come here?" the Spider, now known to them as Aragog asked. It blinked its eyes one after another slowly, making Allen a little cross eyed as he tried to follow the motion. Clicking sounds ensued from the watching masses as if demanding to know the answer. Kanda hesitated and looked at Allen. The General was too, at a loss as to what to say.

"We want to know… how far the magical wards of Hogwarts extend." Kanda said hesitantly. Allen realized that the swordsman was also trying his best not to move so much. The creature clicked its pincers twice and blinked all its eyes again. Several spiders dropped from the canopy onto Allen and Kanda. Both exorcists managed not to flinch and shake the arachnids off.

"The entire forest is magic…." Aragog said slowly. "But Hogwarts has an irregular boundary extending as far as three bags of silk in all directions."

Here it paused to let the exorcist try to figure out exactly how far that was in human terms. Kanda had on a look of intense concentration which would have been adorable if they weren't both in possible grave danger. Allen scrunched up his nose as one of the spiders crawled onto it and stared at him. Aragog clicked its pincers again and the spiders abandoned the two exorcists immediately.

"Tonight, you smell of me." It informed the two men solemnly. "No other creature will bother you…" There was a moment's pause in which the two exorcists absorbed that information.

"Thank you!" Allen said with great relief. Kanda looked rather happy too. They didn't need to worry about engaging with more opponents tonight, which also meant they could cover more ground.

"Or help you." Aragog added. Now that, was less relieving. Allen had to work to keep the smile on his face. Although, it did mean that there were creatures in forest that would have helped them. The giant spider turned slowly, hairy legs moving back into the shadows. The exorcists heaved a sigh of relief.

"How can we repay you?" Allen shouted after it in a rather daring fashion. There was no free lunch in the world after all. Aragog paused and all the smaller spiders started chattering immediately, clicking their pincers and making strange noises. They fell silent when Aragog deigned to speak at last.

"Speak kindly of me…. " It rasped out. Allen had the feeling it was blinking its eyes in that unnerving fashion again. "When you meet your father…"

Allen had to suppress the shiver that went down his spine. As if agreeing on something, the spiders started to scuttle away. Several of them looked hungry enough to take a bite out of the two exorcists but visibly restrained themselves.

The mass of creatures slowly receded, leaving the two men standing there alone, not really sure what to make of the spider's 'blessing' and request. It was a while before Kanda came back to his senses. He drew the watch out from inside his coat and looked at it.

"It's still ticking." He said quietly. Allen looked at the watch then up at Kanda. He could see a scratch running from under Kanda's left eye all the way to the bottom of his right cheek. It was oozing blood sluggishly.

Kanda strapped the time device onto his wrist and beckoned for Allen to come near. Allen complied, wondering what the older man was going to do.

With a look of concentration, Kanda gently patted his colleague down, starting from the shoulders. He pulled out his wand and healed the various cuts and scratches Allen had received when they were running, seeming oblivious to his own bleeding wounds. It was not long before he was done.

"Thank you." Allen said softly as Kanda turned to continue their journey. After all, it did take quite a lot for Kanda to be concerned for anyone least of all him. To his amusement, the swordsman seemed to falter and pause before uttering his usual reply.

"Che."

---

Montague's wand spun and came to a stop. The teen wasted no time in following it into the forest. He could hear Canes close behind. The two of them really didn't know what to expect. The Haste charms they had put on had increased their walking speed. Several spells had taken care of the noise they made as they moved. The scent nullifiers worked to keep predators in the dark about their presence and the bottle of Ever-Brightness provided light when needed.

A better part of Montague insisted that this was lunacy. Looking for their comrade in the dark and Forbidden Forest to boot was complete and utter idiocy.

"Just so you know, I agree." Canes voice whispered from behind him. Montague stumbled but managed to right himself due to Canes gripping his left arm.

"Don't do that again." Montague whispered. He could see the faint blurry outline of his school mate's head as the younger boy nodded. A cry of pain echoed eerily from far off, making the two Slytherins turn to look. A flock of birds took to the air, disturbed by something in the night.

"This isn't a good idea." Canes murmured. It was common for sixth and seventh year Slytherins to venture into the forest alone on occasion. After all, many a potion ingredient could be found there. But then again, it had never been a mile past the forest edge without a guardian.

The older boy tried to shake off the foreboding feeling he received as a loud caw broke the silence and another flock of birds took to the air. He could feel Cane's breath upon his ear. It was distracting but not as distracting as the black shapes from far off that descended into the forest. His eyes widened.

"Get back to the castle, Canes, get a Professor." He hissed. Canes obeyed immediately, Montague could feel the ripple of displaced air as the younger teen moved away. He himself wasted no time in heading directly towards the area.

----

Something was going to go wrong. Kanda could feel it in his bones. They had moved a mere hundred feet from where the spiders had accosted them and already he could feel the oppressive silence. It didn't take long until the first round of gunshot rang out.

Five thunderous claps rang out in quick succession, breaking the stillness the dead night. A creature howled in pain. Allen gasped as something moved in the shadows behind them. His eye clicked and whirred to life immediately.

"Akuma, more than a hundred."

Kanda already had his sword out, his Innocence activated. The sword gleamed in the dark, reflecting Allen's white clown attire. Rustling in the trees let them know that the Akuma were out on a mission. They were gathering around where the exorcists stood.

"Moyashi," Kanda hissed. Allen looked over for a moment, eyes obscured by the mask he wore. "Don't do anything stupid." Kanda saw the lips that he loved to watch quirk up into a smile. They moved and formed words that he never thought Allen would have said. _You too, Bakanda._

The Akuma descended on them.

---

"Sir!" Canes burst into his office. Severus was none too pleased at being interrupted halfway through paperwork. It was late at night and the Potions master was looking forward to a cup of hot milk with whisky before he retired. Unfortunately this was not to be.

"What?!" His tone was acerbic, enough to cow the most hardy of Seventh Years. But Canes didn't look fazed. In fact, Severus could see the remnants of a Disillusionment spell gently washing off the teen's body and returning it to visibility.

"Something just invaded the Forbidden Forest, sir. Walker and his master went in there earlier and Montague has gone after them." The teen gasped out, clutching his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Now Severus prided himself on being a man who was in control of his emotions and facial expressions. However this time, he paled immediately. And invasion was most likely to be staged by the Dark Lord. If there was an invasion, Severus was to have known. If he hadn't been told, his allegiances must have been suspect. To make matters worse, two students and a professor were in the Forest, a dangerous place at night and even more dangerous when attacked.

The Potions Master managed to school his face into an expression of control and annoyance as he grabbed his wand and swung his cloak around his shoulders.

"Fetch the Headmaster or Professor McGonagall if he isn't in." Severus snapped out as he practically ran out of his office. What were the idiots thinking? Going into the forest themselves! Canes ran off immediately to carry out his orders.

Severus never expected such reckless behaviour from his Slytherins. After all, they were a rather cohesive bunch that stuck together through most of the thick and most of the thin. It was rare that one or two would pull stunts like this. Nevertheless, he had to go and bail out his students and try to find out why on earth he hadn't been involved in this invasion.

---

It was just like old times, Kanda reminisced a little fondly despite the situation. There were five different level two's surrounding him, ready to attack. His wand in one hand and his sword in the other, Kanda fired off cutting hexes as he slashed at the armor covering their body. To his right, Allen had already taken out more than twenty Akuma with his Clown Belt. He had wasted no time in putting his sword through each of them. Kandad heard a grunt as Allen was hit. Warm liquid hit Kanda's face, turning vision in his left eye red. He just closed it any continued fighting.

A pincer shot forward and snapped at his wrist, making Kanda drop his wand. It rolled out of sight and into the darkness. Slashing away, the Japanese man unleashed more of his special insects to dispatch of the gruesome beings. Grey was blending with grey, he couldn't even tell where one started and one ended. Burning pain blossomed in his lower right thigh, his knee gave out and he fell. Even as he tucked himself into a roll to regain his balance, Allen had appeared, a blur of white with his cloak. The Clown Belt he used ruthlessly decapitated an Akuma and sent its head flying as he used his sword to shield Kanda momentarily.

The swordsman leapt to his feet and decimated the Level Three that was aiming for Allen's back. The two of them were fighting back to back now, their movements coordinated from long hours of practicing together. They knew each others moves and wouldn't get in each other's way. Kanda ceased to think, giving into his instincts.

It seemed like forever. The level ones had been taken out easily but the level Twos and level Threes had posed more of a problem. Bloody, battered and bruised, Kanda stood panting, surrounded by dying Akuma. Before he could unleash one final attack on them, they simultaneously reverted to their human forms, assuming the faces of young men and women.

"Please! Don't kill me!" The one in front of Kanda begged. The swordsman brought his sword up and sent the head rolling. Behind him, Allen leisurely strangled the rest with his Clown Belt. They stood there breathing hard. Already, Kanda was beginning to feel the skin on his thigh knitting together, it itched like mad and he had to resist the temptation to scratch it.

Allen was clutching his side. He stepped closer to Kanda and stumbled. The older male caught him. The General was breathing shallowly, most probably due to blood loss. Kanda took Allen's wand and patched up the wound as best as he could to stop the bleeding at least.

"I'll be fine." Allen rasped out. Still, the sword wielder didn't feel any better about it. The moment was interrupted by a soft voice.

"You monsters."

Allen lifted his head weakly. It was Montague. His eyes were wide in fear. Kanda couldn't blame him, they looked a sight, covered in blood and what not. The student pointed weakly at the disintegrating corpses on the floor then turned to run. Allen beat him there however and barred him with his Clown belt. Kanda raised the wand in his hand and whispered the word.

"_Obliviate._" Kanda watched as Allen whispered orders to Montague, instructing him to forget the battle.

"There was a pack of wolves who decided to attack us. We chased them off but not before sustaining injury." Allen murmured. He raised his eyes to meet Kanda's as he continued to talk, the mask and all his General attire disappearing as he deactivated his Innocence. "You're relieved that you found us. We have already explained that we came out here to gather information on Hogwarts boundary."

Kanda turned his head away, breaking his gaze. He heard Montague regain his consciousness and start fussing over Allen. A bit of jealously surged in him. He didn't relish the idea of Allen receiving attention from anyone. The swordsman tried but failed to squash it. He strode over to the talking pair and grabbed Allen's arm roughly.

"That's enough for tonight." He ignored Montague's outraged cry of 'He's injured, Professor!' and hauled his apprentice back in the direction of Hogwarts. He was only mollified when Allen smiled at him genuinely and replied.

_"Alright, BaKanda."_

_---_

_So. This took ages, School's eating my time and I just bought an orange keyboard which is awesome. Even though I have no Right ctrl button, I don't mind. It's ORANGE._


	11. Chapter 11

_11_

_This chapter was hard to write because of a few things. I was preparing for competition, I kept coming up with random scenes. I changed many things in this story. It was quite difficult to write responses of the staff and pace the revelations. I don't plan on the staff ever finding out about their exorcist abilities but the relationship will come to light eventually._

---

Montague had a headache. He was sure he hit his head or something. Nevertheless, he didn't let that deter him as he stumbled after the foreign pair who was trotting along at a fair pace. Every now and then Allen would stumble and Kanda would help him up with a look of concern. Kanda was holding up the jar of Ever brightness and it cast long shadows everywhere. Montague had tried to dissuade him from using it as it might attract more unwanted creatures but the Defense Professor insisted that it would be okay.

The Seventh Year Slytherin wasn't all that surprised when Allen fell again. This time, the dark haired teacher shoved the jar of light into Allen's hands then scooped up the younger male bridal style. Without a word, he continued walking. Montague took the chance to send up more red sparks, just so that anyone who was looking for them could find them easily.

Ahead of him, Allen was whispering something to Kanda. Whatever it was, it had the professor looking pale. Montague didn't think it was possible but the swordsman walked faster. The Slytherin rushed to keep up. He could hear the sounds of wild magical animals surrounding them and watching from the darkness. There was the unmistakable glow of a Black Spotted Rattler's eyes about three feet to his right and the persistent pitiful wailing of a Baby Caterwaul in the general direction of his left.

As Montague sent up another shower of sparks, he was glad to hear familiar swearing. A greasy hooked nose emerged from the shadows in front of Kanda and Allen. The accompanying less than polite language let them know without a doubt that it was the Head of Slytherin.

"Of all the _idiotic_ Gryiffindorish things to do!" he snarled as he plucked a leaf from his hair. Professor Kanda glared at him but did not reply. The long haired man brushed past the Potions Master brusquely in the direction of whence he came and continued on as if there had been no disruption. Montague could only look helplessly at his head of house when the dour man glared at him.

"And pray tell where are you going now?" the Potions Master asked in deceptively soft tones. His colleague didn't pause at all, continuing to walk. Allen raised the jar weakly and gave Professor Snape an apologetic smile.

"If you're not going to lead us back to Hogwarts or replenish my brat's blood, don't bother coming with." Kanda snapped irritably. Professor Snape glowered for a moment but chose to catch up with the pair. Montague caught him muttering several choice words that would have made a maiden blush.

The Potions Master raised his wand and cast several charms on Professor Kanda, himself and Montague. The seventh year found with great relief that it was an enhanced version of the Haste spell. Together, the motley group hastened back to the castle.

---

"I must insist that he stay for the night!" Madam Pomfrey near squawked. Never in her life had a professor defied her concerning the health of the students. Kanda had swept into the hospital wing like he owned it, set Allen down on a bed and proceeded to collect a good lot of potions from her cupboard. The nerve of the man!

Of course the mediwitch had protested vehemently at the intrusion then at the professor's insistence that Allen would spend the night with him. The headmaster was already present. Montague had been sent back to his room. Professor Severus was watching and Madam Pomfrey was really irritated. Wasn't the Japanese man the least bit concerned for his student? Didn't he care that complications would rise up if the child wasn't given the proper care? The poor boy was shaking on the bed, white as the sheets, blood covering his person and smelling like something the cat dragged in.

"At least let me scan him for any injuries." The mediwitch huffed when she realized that she wasn't going to win the argument. To her great indignation and disbelief, the defense professor not only refused but also recoiled in what she supposed was horror. The man let out a long suffering sigh.

"Madam Pomfrey." His tone was uncharacteristically soft. "I'm sure you remember seeing something… during the first time Allen came to the hospital wing."

Comprehension dawned on the middle aged nurse. Allen was afraid of exposing his arm. She had seen the appendage once before when treating him for potion accident incurred burns. Never in her life had Madam Pomfrey seen such a scarred limb. One of the perks with Magical Healing was that it left little to no scars if done correctly and promptly. The only was Allen could have gotten such horrible scarring was if he had been unable to tend to the arm after he was hurt. It really looked as if someone had set it on fire and left it to burn. Madam Pomfrey nodded empathetically. She understood perfectly.

"Allen would prefer if no one sees it ever again." Kanda continued. His eyes were closed as if in guilt and remorse. Madam Pomfrey sighed and took a look over at said boy. The white haired child was trembling horribly, huddled up on the bed with his cloak covering his whole body and Kanda's coat covering the majority of his head so that only one eye peeked out. He looked scared, terrified and ashamed at the same time.

"Fine." The mediwitch said at long last. She wouldn't force the boy to stay. Madam Pomfrey gave Professor the evil eye. "But if anything happens…" She let the sentence hang. The swordsman nodded briskly and made a small noise of understanding. Without any further waiting, he scooped up his apprentice bridal style again and strode towards the door.

Just before Kanda stepped outside, he turned partially to look at Dumbledore.

"We'll be absent tomorrow." He stated as if it were fact.

The other two staff members just stared as Madam Pomfrey let them leave.

"I never…" For the second time that night, Severus let his composure slip.

---

It seemed like an eternity before Kanda managed to reach his rooms. In actual fact it had only been a minute and a half since the haste spell hadn't worn off. The portrait swung open when Kanda gave it the password and He wasted no time in laying Allen on his bed and unraveling the cloak from the boy's body.

Pentacles covered almost every inch of the General's skin. The young man shuddered as his parasite Innocence tried to fight it desperately. It seemed to be having quite a lot of trouble as Allen was already weakened by blood loss. No matter how many times the swordsman saw it happen; it still made a shiver go down his spine. Kanda set out the various flasks he had taken from Madam Pomfrey on the bedside table and picked one quickly.

"Blood replenishing." He murmured to his colleague as he uncorked the flask of purple liquid and cradled Allen's head in one arm. The General took it with trembling hands. The flask shook and spilled as he raised it to his lips. It was obvious that he wasn't able to drink it by himself. Kanda bit his lip a little hesitantly and took the flask away. The swordsman lifted it and took a huge swig then pressed his lips to Allen's mouth.

The white haired boy opened his mouth readily and drank the fluid. It was one of the methods commonly employed to help injured exorcists during a mission. Kanda had never been on the receiving side but he had done it to several other people. The list included Lenalee, Marie, Miranda, and present company. The receiving party had been unconscious or barely conscious when Kanda had done it previously. Understandably, he found that feeding a conscious Allen in this manner remarkably weird and uncomfortable. For one thing, he could actually feel Allen's tongue swiping his lips every time he drew back to take another mouthful. Secondly, he couldn't help but make eye contact with the younger male throughout the process.

Allen seemed a little out of it, eyes fluttering open and close as he drank the potion obediently. Kanda watched his scarred throat work as the liquid made its way down Allen's esophagus. It was quite hypnotizing and the swordsman barely registered Allen gently pushing him away after the second flask of Blood Replenishing.

Colour had returned to the teen's face and Allen grimaced as the pentacles receded. Kanda could sympathize because he had been on the receiving end of Akuma poison before and it certainly wasn't a pleasant thing to fight off. It spread through your veins, destroying your immune system first before moving onto the rest of the body, causing a decay so fast that you had no time to rot, only turn to dust. The burning sensation that ravaged your body felt horrible and suffocating.

Allen took the rest of the flasks and drank them slowly. He downed two more Blood Replenishing potions, a Scar-Be-Gone and an antibiotic before he stopped. There was an awkward pause as the both of them realized that Allen was still partially lying in Kanda's lap. Kanda was overcome with a sense of nostalgia and peace. He briefly remembered a time when he could still climb into his Master's lap and demand a story.

"Uh… thanks." Allen ventured a little shyly as he moved to get up. It was the movement and the warm spot that Allen left on Kanda's thighs that made the swordsman reach forward and hug the teen. He was just made acutely aware of how much he would miss the brat if he was gone. There would be no more missions, no more bickering and no more making fun of each other in a roundabout way. Kanda swallowed the lump in his throat as he squeezed Allen a little tighter.

"Don't die on me brat." He said gruffly and let go. Allen looked rather surprised but nodded as he got up.

"I won't, Yuu. I won't."

It was only after Allen had disappeared into the shower did Kanda realize that Allen had called him by name. It was with wonder that he noted that he didn't really mind at all.

--

"I can't believe you just let them go." Snape was irritated. After all that suspicious activity, the headmaster had done nothing to detain the pair. For all they knew they could have planned an attack on Hogwarts itself! Dumbledore stroked his beard contemplatively as they ascended the stairs to his office.

"It's the end of October." The headmaster murmured. Severus nearly groaned. He had been muttering the same thing for the past five minutes; it did not make much sense to the spy. Aside for the Dark Lord's penchant for staging attacks on Halloween, there was no connection between what the pair did and the date.

"The wolves of the forest _are_ in the Northern woods during late October. All of them." Dumbledore continued, looking quite nonplussed. Severus stopped at the top of the stairs, comprehension dawning on him.

"The wolves always attack when the smell blood." The spy said softly, realizing what the headmaster was getting at. Allen and Kanda had been covered in blood. If what Montague said was true, the pair had managed to fend off one pack of wolves. Just one pack. There were several of them currently prowling the North and East sections of the Forbidden Forest. Even if Professor Kanda and Allen had fought off and discouraged one of the packs, it would not have stopped the other packs from attacking. It was nothing short of mind baffling. There were only few creatures that the wolves would never attack. Aragog was one of them. The Centaurs were the other. If the slither marks were anything to go by, the huge snakes were also off limits. The list was ended with the Thestrals. Anything else that moved was fair game, especially with the onset of winter when food became scarce.

How on earth did the foreign duo manage at all? The scent of blood would have surely attracted other animals if not the wolves. Yet they were somehow able to walk from somewhere in the middle of the forest all the way back without being accosted.

"That's impossible." Severus voiced the headmaster's thoughts. The only one who constantly walked through the forest unharmed was Hagrid. That was more due to the fact that the creatures thought of him as one of their own and because it was known that Aragog liked him.

Severus sank down into an armchair and pondered it. He had sensed no charms upon the pair or Montague. They weren't using any protection amulets. Aside from the tell tale tangy aura of a minor Haste spell, they hadn't been protected at all. According to Montague, he found them bare handed and wounded. Neither carried any of the precautions that the Seventh Year Slytherin had carried. Their scents were not nullified, they were not disillusioned, their footsteps weren't even silenced!

"They mean us no harm." Dumbledore said at length. He sat down in his chair and steepled his fingers, looking at his Potions Master over the pointed tips. Severus knew this. But it was more dangerous to be with people who meant you no harm. If they weren't on your side or the enemy's side, you had no way of knowing what they were thinking. They could just as easily step on the enemies or you to achieve their goals. This was what he was afraid of, at least with Voldemort you knew that he was out for world domination, pureblood principles and immortality.

If Voldemort offered them what they wanted in exchange for Harry Potter, there was no telling what they would do.

"Aside from our students and Harry Potter." Dumbledore began, eyes trained on a spot behind Snape. "What do we have, that they might want?" he pondered.

Snape thought for a long while, casting his mind back through history lessons about Hogwarts and its founding. Certainly, it would not be the castle itself. They were looking for something specific and probably hidden. Could it have been the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk within? Could it be the heirlooms of the four founders that were rumoured to be hidden in the school? Maybe they just wanted to use the library to research information or maybe a book! He mulled them over.

It didn't make sense. None of this year did make sense to begin with. Severus shifted uncomfortably. It was entirely possible wasn't it, that they knew something about Hogwarts that not even the Headmaster knew. It was a disconcerting thought. If this was true, whatever they wanted could potentially be fatal to everything that resided in the four walls of Hogwarts. Perhaps the headmaster reached the same conclusion as Severus for when the dour man looked up, he saw a grim expression on Dumbledore's face. It spoke of uncertainty and wavering decisions, a combination that Severus did not ever want to see on the headmaster's face. For if the leading Light Wizard was at a loss, what were the rest of the wizarding population going to do?

---

The room was dark and Voldemort was tapping his fingernails against the arm of his high backed chair. Rhode had been grounded for persuading him to unleash the Akuma. She hadn't been allowed to see him but then Nagini had volunteered to pass messages between the two of them. The snake had been amused when Voldemort mentioned his fatherly feelings towards the child. The great serpent slithered through the darkness and coiled up a leg to rest on Voldemort's knee.

"She says, she needs to know what are the roots of x squared minus 4x plus four." The snake hissed softly, quite enjoying the frivolous message passing in which she was indulging. It was refreshing not to be sent somewhere to do something destructive for once and it was very entertaining to watch her human feel like a parent to a hatchling.

"She also says: I'm sorry that you got me into trouble and I think one got back alive and that it says someone saw the doo-dee heads kill my pets." Nagini gave her human the rest of the message and slithered up closer to rest on his head. It was one of the best perches because she could see everything going on. The Dark Lord laughed softly, a genuine sound that hadn't been heard in many years.

"Marvelous, I hope to hear from this Akuma just exactly what happened, also, tell her that doo-dee head isn't language appropriate for someone with her standing." The Dark Lord told Nagini with a hint of a smirk. He tapped his wand against his hand and conjured a crimson carnation. Nagini took it in her mouth and slithered down to the ground, Voldemort had been giving the girl all sorts of flowers to pick apart after discovering that it was the child's favourite pastime. Just as Nagini reached the door, her human hailed her again.

"Also, tell her that the answer is 2."

---

The redhead had always been a charmer and his charm had never failed him, not even with his enemies. Even as they died, they smiled at him and called him a womanizer. Well, the female ones anyway. The male ones called him a right bastard.

General Cross was currently keeping a straight face as he sweet talked a young lady into telling him about Diagon Alley and this Hogwarts place. It hadn't been too hard to make his way to London. No, the trouble lay in recognizing members of the wizarding community and then finding out how to get to his apprentice.

He had first charmed a female Finder into telling him all she could find out about the Wizarding community. Then he had waited around London until he saw someone who could fit that description. It had taken a few tries before he had managed to follow this young lady to the Leaky Cauldron. His eyes had passed over the inn at first but when he watched closely and concentrated, he could feel the magic emanating from it, tempting him to look away. Of course, the General was stronger than that and he had entered the establishment confidently.

"Excuse me miss." He made sure to put on a foreign accent as he spoke "I'm not from around here and I was told that I could get Diagonally but I don't know where or what that supposed to mean." The redhead smiled sadly at the young woman. She couldn't have been more than twenty five and was dressed in normal clothes under the olive green robes she wore. Predictably, she giggled at Cross's attention and pointed to the brick wall.

"It's a shopping Alley." She informed him with a smile as she took out her wand and tapped the wall. It slid open to reveal an impressive arc and a doorway to the alley. Cross smirked inwardly. Sometimes, this was just too easy. He thanked the young lady and complimented her on her fashion sense as he stepped through the arc.

It was noisy and crowded but Marian Cross didn't mind. It was easier to overhear things in a crowded place where no one thought you were listening and weren't really paying attention to what they were saying. He loitered around a few shops and waited. In a place full of people like this, he was bound to learn something.

---

Allen awoke pleasantly refreshed. Which was really odd since never in his life had he woken up after a battle without any aches. He sat up slowly, savouring the warmth of the blanket he had over him and the coolness of the air that hit his bare shoulders.

After the potion feeding incident last night, he didn't recall much. He had been too exhausted to remember anything besides taking a much needed shower and falling into bed. The teen barely remembered the presence of his colleague who stood by the bed, drying his own hair before joining him in the bed.

The General examined his side. All along he had been aware that Akuma bullets contained poison. However, the poison that had ravaged his body the night before had originated from a slash wound. Perhaps the higher level Akumas had started coating their limbs with poison now? It was a possibility since he had been mostly attacking the Level 3's while Kanda had eradicated the 1's and 2's. A pink line remained there where he had deliberately taken a hit in order to get close enough. He was about to poke it when a warm hand descended upon his wrist.

"Allen." Kanda murmured. Allen stifled a grin. The older male's hair was sticking up like a rat's nest. He probably didn't dry his hair well enough so it dried funny as he slept. The white haired teen reached out and threaded his fingers through the jet black locks, working through the bigger knots until Kanda's hair had regained some semblance of its usual sleekness.

The warm hand upon his wrist loosened and moved to gently swat away Allen's fingers. Kanda sat up and swung his legs out of bed. The swordsman looked harmless for the moment, eyes working to open and his nose twitching. The black golem that Kanda usually kept in his suitcase bumped his head gently and seemed to wonder if he was alright. It was a peaceful moment before Kanda spoke up.

"Isn't today a weekday?" He asked no one in particular. Allen froze and scrambled for his wand. With a hasty tempus, he confirmed what they already suspected. It was late in the morning and class had already started. Allen scrambled to put his clothes on only to realize that aside from the spare robe and underwear he had left here, the rest of his clothing were in his dorm and not in Kanda's rooms. The swordsman got up quickly but not in a hurried fashion. From his closet, he picked out a white shirt and pants for his colleague and tossed them to Allen. These were followed by plain white gloves as per usual.

The clothes were a little large on the shorter male but it wasn't too obvious when Allen tugged on his robes.

"Don't rush." Kanda murmured with a little irritation to Allen as he helped the younger boy to adjust his tie. He didn't seem fazed at all that Allen was late for class or that he himself had missed the first year Defense he was supposed to teach. Allen scowled at him for being too calm.

"We're already late." Kanda added, brushing a long lock of hair out of his face. "They don't expect you to turn up and I can't teach without my wand." He then turned to put on his own clothes.

"Besides, I told the headmaster we wouldn't be turning up today. I have to get a new want anyway." He added. Allen sat down on the bed, feeling quite relieved. He didn't fancy having to go to class dressed in his 'master's clothes. Going to Diagon Alley would be a nice change. He watched as Kanda struggled to tug a brush through his hair.

"Come here, Yuu." He laughed. To his surprise, Kanda actually obliged him by sitting between Allen's legs so that the younger male could brush his hair. Allen took the brush and started to drag it through the tangles. Kanda made no noise even when Allen forced the tool through several tangled bits. A thought occurred to Allen and he giggled. It would be fun to try a new hairstyle with Kanda.

"Say, Yuu. Can I braid your hair?" He asked. There was silence for a brief moment before Kanda replied.

"Che. Be quick about it."

Allen took that as a yes and grinned.

---

Montague hadn't even gotten two steps into the common room when he was set upon by various members Slytherin.

"What happened?"

"Is Allen alright?"

"Where is Allen and Professor Kanda?"

"Can you return my cloak please?"

A cacophony of voices beset Montague. He fended them off with his hands and stumbled to the middle of the room to sit in the arm chair as he pulled on his socks.

"I found them, they just fought off a pack of wolves." He said softly. "They were injured but we met Professor Snape on the way back and Allen is probably recuperating in the Hospital Wing." The seventh year added with an air of finality. He still had the remnants of a headache which was putting him into a less than stellar mood. He didn't notice Canes freeze in position and turn to look at Montague with wide eyes. Irving grabbed the teen named after a star and dragged him into a corner.

"What is that look for?" She demanded softly. Canes gave her a bewildered look.

"If what Allen and Professor Kanda fought was the wolves, then what became of the creatures that we saw invading the forest?" he asked softly. Irving bit her lip as she looked over at Montague who was now rubbing his temples.

There could be two scenes which were entirely possible: One, the foreign pair did meet the wolves of the Forbidden Forest and had a fight. This meant that whatever had descended into the forest was still out there and waiting to attack. Two, the foreign pair engaged the invading beings and obliterated them. However if this was true, then whatever Montague was saying was fake. Montague wasn't the kind to lie so it had to be a memory charm that made him believe that this was true. And it both conditions were fulfilled, one chilling question arose: What was it that Allen and Professor Kanda were so desperate to conceal?

---

"Ready?"

Allen didn't feel as if he was ready but he nodded anyway. Kanda had somehow managed to procure a portkey that would take them to Diagon Alley. He mentioned something about toads and flies but refused to elaborate further on the topic. Either way the General didn't question his colleague.

With a hook behind his navel, the two of them were sent careening through a multitude of colours. Allen gasped as his side twinged painfully. The teen landed with a soft grunt and was steadied by Kanda who reached out to grab Allen's arm.

The both of them blinked, slightly disoriented as they took in their surroundings. They had landed right smack in the middle of the street. The people there were starting to take notice of the pair, Allen for his pure white hair and scar, Kanda merely for the fact that he looked Asian.

The swordsman grabbed Allen's arm firmly, his jaw set in a tight line then dragged the younger male in the direction of Ollivanders. Allen just went along with it, not seeing any point in struggling since they were going the same way. Once upon a time he would have exclaimed and complained about Kanda's rude treatment but now he knew better that this was just the way the Japanese man always was and always would be.

As if Kanda somehow knew what Allen was thinking, he turned his head briefly and gave the younger man a look of annoyance. He looked as though he was thinking 'Could you not waste your time thinking of these matters and concentrate on helping us find clues?'

Ollivanders was dark and musty. Allen sneezed three times upon entry and he could see Kanda somehow managing to stop himself from the involuntary action. It took a bit of blinking for his eyes to adjust to the dim light in the shop and as a result he was rather taken aback when an old man appeared in front of him.

"Another old soul...." The man that Allen took to be Ollivander murmured more to himself than to the pair. Kanda's scowl shifted a little to show his apprehension.

"I am here to purchase wands." Kanda said. Allen noted with relief that he seemed to tone down his aggressive tone when talking to the obviously older man. Ollivander made a non committal sound in the back of his throat and peered at the swordsman, looking him up and then down again.

"Your face belies your temperament, very tricky, very tricky." The aged wandmaker murmured, again more to himself than to the two young men in front of him. Kanda's scowl developed into one that said he was quite irritated. The wand maker turned and disappeared behind the stacks of boxes. The two exorcists could hear him exclaiming to himself and making small sounds of dissatisfaction.

He finally emerged from the behind the shelves carrying a small pile of boxes which he carefully laid out on the counter. He picked up one first and scrutinized it before looking at Kanda. He held it out, handle first to the swordsman and motioned for him to take it.

"Ten and a half Acacia wood, core of a kappa's shell fragment, generally used for defensive spells. Go on, give it a wave."

Kanda took the wand and waved it a few times. It did nothing but tremble and knock over a box. The aged wand maker snatched the wand from him, tutting about picky wands that would never be sold. Allen bit back a grin when another wand was shoved into Kanda's hands and the swordsman had to wave it.

Almost none of the wands responded to the brunette positively if at all. The most volatile reaction Kanda had gotten from one Holly wand with a core of Veela hair was a small fire burning merrily in one of the fire pots. The wand maker hmm'ed again, something that he had been doing for the past fifteen or twenty minutes.

"How do you expect a wand to choose you, if you guard your emotions so tightly?" Ollivander finally asked as he disappeared behind the shelves again and brought out a dark coloured wand.

"Twelve inches of a Sycamore tree with a core of Boneset and Lotus. One of the few wands made wholly from plants. If this one does not respond to you, you may have to seek services elsewhere. " He gave Kanda a sideways glance as he said this and then watched expectantly as the swordsman waved the wand with a scowl.

The look on Kanda's face was priceless, Allen would go on to think later. He looked amazed and in awe as the wand spewed sparks and petals simultaneously. He waved the wand a few more times and then smirked.

"You on the other hand." Ollivander told Allen sternly. The white haired teen shrank back nervously. What did he mean him?

"I don't need a wand…" Allen pulled out the one Komui had given him to prove his point. The aged wand maker made a derisive sound at the back of his throat and snatched it out of his hand, replacing it with a dark red stick instead.

"A branch of Apple tree! Hair of Veela, blood of a Thestral! Ten inches, very nice in charms and transfiguration!"

Allen, flabbergasted at Ollivander's sudden enthusiastic behaviour, could only wave it feebly. A torrent of water drenched everyone but miraculously stayed away from the wares. Sputtering, the three wizards dried themselves. Ollivander looked pleased as he pulled out a variety of wands and made Allen try all of them.

Ten minutes later, Kanda had moved to the door and Allen was ready to give up. The teen had never seen someone so happy to have his shop destroyed bit by bit. After the water, Allen had loosed a hobgoblin by accident, set a shelf on fire, emitted several loud sounds, cast a brightness then darkness spell, reduced the counter by half and destroyed several light fixtures. Ollivander looked progressively happier as the pile of unsuitable wands accumulated.

"This had to be it." The wand maker said with finality as he pulled out a box from a shelf behind the counter. "It was left here by a man named Japheth. He only told me that a marked boy would use this wand. I tried it with young Harry Potter and several other boys but none managed to garner a response."

Here the wand maker stepped close to Allen and traced the pentacle on his forehead. Out of the corner of Allen's eye, he could see his colleague stiffen and place his hand on his sword. The brunette slid into a stance commonly used for combat in cramped spaces and was about to open his mouth when Ollivander moved back. Allen took the wand.

Even through his gloves, he could feel the connection immediately. Warmth spread through his finger tips as he swished it. Silver sparks rained down, bursting into smaller lights as they hit the ground. Silence reigned as Allen retracted his hand.

"It's a nine inch Reed wand. It has a Core of Juniper as well as Unicorn tears." Ollivander told him solemnly as he moved to the cash register.

"Tell me, child. Do you see death?" Ollivander went on as he rung up the total. If Allen had been any more inexperienced, he probably would have frozen up and given the game away. Instead he pasted on his trademark innocent expression.

"I've seen it yes." He remarked politely "Why do you ask?"

"Tears of horses are used to gain a temporary third eye." Ollivander murmured. Kanda stepped up to the counter and counted out 18 gold coins, 9 for each wand.

"The tears of a Unicorn… are rarely given and are used to make it permanent." The wand maker left off at that point, presumably to let the two of them draw their own conclusions. Kanda chose to thank the man in a brusque tone and then leave promptly through the door. Allen stayed behind for a minute longer, just enough time to cast a soft _Reparo _on the furniture he had destroyed.

The General ran to catch up with his colleague. Kanda was studiously looking ahead, lips set in a firm line.

"He knows something." Kanda hissed as soon as Allen was within earshot. The General had to agree. Unicorn tears allowed people to see death. Allen certainly saw enough of those. Dead souls to be precise conned and trapped inside bodies of their loved ones. He also did not like the way Ollivander treated Kanda. It was almost as if he wasn't really happy to fit Kanda with a wand. In fact, he seemed to expect that the swordsman would not be able to find one at all.

A flash of silver to his right made Allen spin around and whip out his wand immediately. A shielding spell rolled off the tip of his tongue. A coin glanced off the shield and rolled away. The white haired teen blinked then recoiled in horror as he realized at who he was looking.

"What are you doing here?"

The swordsman demanded as he clapped one hand over Allen's mouth to prevent the teen from saying anything possibly incriminating. He glared at the offending person who was grinning like a shark.

"Why hallo, brats. I was just looking for you."

Allen ripped Kanda's hand off his mouth and glowered at his former master. Even though it had been ages since he had seen the redheaded gunman, he still harbored feelings of resentment towards the older male, particularly for saddling him with a substantial amount of debt even after he 'died'.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed each other yet." Cross laughed raucously as he ruffled Allen's hair. He gave Kanda a look of mild approval as he circled the swordsman.

"The braid looks better." He commented and tugged on it, forcing Kanda to lean backwards a little to avoid having it yanked off. Kanda retaliated by introducing the butt of his katana to Cross's stomach. The older male shifted just enough for it to be a glancing blow, nothing too serious.

"What are you doing here?" Allen demanded before Kanda could do it again. This was their mission after all. They were supposed to be isolated with only the Golems and several Finders for contact. He never expected his former master of all people to pop up in the magical world.

Kanda had moved slightly in front of him, wand in one hand, sword half drawn with the other. It was a protective gesture, one meant to decapitate or seriously injure the opponent the moment he even made a move. Of course, Cross knew what it was and he backed away slightly. Allen supposed that the red head knew that he was at a slight disadvantage, one where he had no idea how to use magic if he could utilize it at all.

They remained like that for about thirty seconds. Which was when people started to stop and stare at the trio. As much as Allen would have liked to yell at his ex-master, he knew that this wasn't the time and place to do it. He hooked a finger through Kanda's belt loop, grabbed his master's coat and used his strength to drag them both to a café further down the street.

---

Although Cross was looking for his apprentice, he didn't really expect to find the brat so soon. He did a double take at the white hair, tossed a coin for laughs, thinking that it couldn't be him but was pleasantly surprised.

He hadn't even recognized the sword brat with his hair in a braid. It made him look younger, less stern and a little softer. Of course, his reception was less than but he ignored that in favour of irritating the pair, commenting on their cooperation and the sword brat's hair style. The Marshall dodged the half hearted blow to his stomach and released the braid he was tugging.

"What are you doing here?" Allen demanded. Cross ignored that again. He was more interested in what Kanda was doing. The sword brat actually moved in front of Allen. One hand on a stick, the other on his sword. It was one of the defensive moves that Cross had seen before. Only the wand had been another sword. He backed off a little. Cross may have been a charmer and a skilled marksman but he knew when he was handicapped. He did however, muse on the time where Kanda would have just insulted both Allen and him before leaving in a huff. The sword brat had looked almost protective of Allen in that stance. A niggling doubt arose in his mind.

It was further seeded when Allen hooked a finger through the sword brat's belt loops and used that to drag the older male away. Cross let himself be led as he watched his apprentice interact with the girly brat he once so loathed. Was it possible? After all, Allen had never shown much inclination to either sex and Kanda was exceptionally pretty for a young man.

It clicked as he sat down in a booth. Kanda moved over without complaint when Allen slid in beside him. Cross noticed that Allen's shirt was a little larger under his robes, it had to be rolled up twice or it would have covered his fingers. It definitely wasn't his own.

The dysfunctional pair wasn't arguing. They were getting along. Kanda defended Allen. Allen was wearing Kanda's shirt.

Cross couldn't decide whether to frown or to grin.

---

_You guys are probably thinking, finally! Anyway, I change polls a few times in between updates, check regularly to vote. Currently, I'm trying to find out who people think is the hottest among my debate team. Yes, girl in an all boys school so the rest of my team members are boys. So go to the picture and vote! Thank you! Also, try visiting my blog. I'm using the same name on blogspot. Comment there if you won't review here. :D_


	12. Chapter 12

_12_

_A lot of complications in this chapter. Hope you guys likey._

---

The hallway to the Potions Classroom never seemed so long. Irving quickened her steps as she approached the door. Behind her, Canes was helping a rather drugged up Montague along.

"My head really hurts." Montague complained as he steadied himself against his fellow Slytherin. "I want to go to the hospital wing, not to Professor Snape." He said, digging in his heels as he tried to resist. Canes glared and tugged on his arm. Even with the Headache Relieving potion, the Seventh year was still complaining about a headache. This only led them to believe that his memory had been altered. If it was just a normal headache, the potion would have taken effect immediately and relieved the pain.

The door was open and Irving could hear their Potions Master lecturing the students about their dismal brewing skills.

"Sir, we have a problem." Irving stated as calmly as she could, knocking on the door to gain the man's attention. Professor Snape turned to glare at them, arranging the papers on his desk as he did so. With a tap of his wand, instructions appeared on the board.

"Follow the instructions carefully. You will, test your own potions." He sneered before sweeping out of the classroom, robes billowing behind him. Irving, Canes and Montague fell into step behind him as he walked the short distance to his office.

"What, is the problem?" He all but snapped at them when they stepped inside the room. Irving gave Canes and unsure look as the teen helped Montague to a chair.

"Allen and Professor Kanda are lying." Canes stated as the teen sat down. Professor Snape rolled his eyes.

"Of course, they are. I wasn't born yesterday." He snapped.

"You have to take a look at Montague's memories. We think that he's been obliviated." Irving cut in before the professor could make anymore cutting remarks. She pulled an innocent looking piece of parchment out of her robes and placed it on the table.

"We gave Montague an assortment of things that he might need in case of an emergency." She said softly. "This is a portkey designed to take the user straight to the dungeons." The blonde raised her eyes to look at the Potions Master meaningfully.

"But Montague never used it."

There was a brief silence in which the teen in question frowned as he looked at the piece of parchment. He rubbed his temples as he tried to recall ever possessing such a thing. Professor Snape let out a few choice words that made present company wince. The professor knelt in front of the Seventh year and tapped his wand against Montague's head, murmuring a spell as he did so.

Irving went to stand beside Canes, watching nervously. As seasoned Slytherins, it was common for them to utilize every tool they had to achieve their means. It was out of the ordinary for someone like Montague not to use such a convenient tool like a portkey. If it were any other house, they would have called it a momentary lapse in judgment but not with a Slytherin, especially not one so respected among themselves.

"There is a very rudimentary block on his memory." Professor Snape said as he stood. Montague looked dazed and disoriented.

"It has been placed incorrectly." The Potions Master continued as he turned to look at his students. "I need someone else to help me remove it, otherwise…" Here he paused with a hooded look.

"Montague's mind may be forfeit."

Irving covered her hand with her mouth. An action drilled into her since young so to look proper when shocked. Montague made a noise of disbelief as he tried to stand. In a rare show of concern, Professor Snape caught his arm and steadied the teen, pulling him closer in case he fell.

"Irving, go back to class and pretend nothing has happened. Canes, come with me to the headmaster. We have a lot of work to do."

---

Albus Dumbledore was able to count the number of times Professor Snape had barged into his office during class time on one hand. When the door to his office banged open and said man strode in looking like someone poured itching powder in his soup, Albus extended it to two hands.

"What seems to be the problem?" he inquired softly, looking from Severus, then to the two students. Montague was leaning heavily on Canes, looking disoriented and dazed. It was a common sign of… oh dear. Albus sat up a little straighter.

"Someone placed a memory block on him. It pertains to last night." The Potions Master stated.

Oh dear indeed. This only further implicated the foreign duo. The two were probably out in Diagon Alley now, who knows what they were doing?

Canes helped Montague to a comfortable chair and eased him into it. The Seventh year looked thoroughly harassed and worried. Dumbledore did not have the heart to tell him he had to return to class. Instead, the headmaster stood and walked around his table. Montague's eyes were blinking rapidly, staring at nothing.

"It's an incomplete Obliviate which was done incorrectly. The spell wrapped itself around more than one memory and started to expand. Montague's own magic is rejecting it and that's what is causing the headache." The Potions Master stated as Albus examined the boy.

At length, Albus drew back and stroked his beard. Tricky. Very Tricky. He looked from Severus, to the portraits, to Montague and then out his window. The portraits started clamouring immediately.

"What are you going to do about them?" The portrait of Armando Dippet rang out at last over the cacophony of voices. All the portraits fell silent and looked at the current headmaster.

It was times like this that Albus truly felt his age. He sighed.

"First things first. Montague's Memory." The headmaster said wearily as he tapped his wand against his palm. Severus inclined his head as if waiting for the older man to start and start Albus did. He placed two fingers on Montagues right temple and pressed the tip of his wand to the other. With a soft whispered _Legilimens!_ The old wizard entered the mind of the Slytherin.

Minds were often messy things, cluttered with things that the subconscious mind remembered. Montagues was no different if not worse. Dumbledore found himself half floating in a matrix of memories. He felt Severus's presence appear to his right.

"This way, headmaster." Severus murmured softly, making swimming motions with his mind to travel through the matrix. The colourful memories seemed to get paler and paler until they were all in shades of grey. Albus frowned. Montague must have a lot of sad memories if the colours faded out of them so easily. The Potions Master stopped at a huge interconnected web of threads. There was a human sized bundle in the middle and looked as through a cocoon of spider's eggs had been left to breed there. The bundle pulsed with a faint blue light, the cocoon like structure trembled and trashed every so often. Each time it moved, Dumbledore could see the threads of the web trying to spread out and cover other parts of the memory matrix. In some areas, it had already succeeded in crushing the original memories. The matrix responded with a throb of Montague's own magic. It was probably the cause of the headache.

"Headmaster, would you please contain it while I cut away the spell?" Severus' cold voice jolted Albus out of his musings. The aged man gave his affirmative and raised his wand. With swift movements, he drew a figure 8 in the air which wrapped itself tightly around the bundle, restricting its movement. Severus reached up and started to cut away the pulsing blue thread.

It came away easily but stuck itself back just as easily like a piece of gum that would stick to a shoe as well as the ground. The Potions Master was having a hard time, trying to get it off and have it stay off. He finally figured out a way of cutting each web loose and tucking it under his arm as the headmaster focused on preventing the bundle from moving and spreading the tendrils any further.

Slowly but surely the pair worked together to remove the tendrils that seemed intent on wrangling their way free, it was tedious work but at last it was done. Albus flicked his wand and severed the bundle from the matrix of memories. It trashed violently as it fell to the figurative ground and lay there twitching. Meanwhile, Severus tugged the unaffected strands of the memory matrix together so not to leave any hanging threads.

Together, they held onto the bundle and prepared to leave Montague's memory.

---

Canes watched as first Professor Snape then Headmaster Dumbledore reel back from touching Montague. A pulsing blue thread whipped out of his friend's temple and trashed several times before Dumbledore reached out and grasped it firmly. He deposited it into his pensieve and turned to look at Canes.

"Take Montague back and make sure he rests." Professor Dumbledore said in a gentle but firm way. Professor Snape had already plunged his head into the silver liquid of the pensieve and seemed to be tampering with the aforementioned memory. Canes had no real experience with mind magic but whatever it was that the two teachers pulled from Montagues head, it was not normal.

"Rigormortis." He whispered and levitated his friend out of the office. As he was leaving, he could hear the two professors talking amongst each other in hushed tones.

---

"It was cast with intent to destroy." Snape murmured to his employer as he unraveled the last few bits of blue magic from the memory. Outside of its normal environment the magic lost its strong hold on the memory. It was just a matter of separating the magicks. Albus had come to aid him in getting rid of the badly done spell and it was far easier with two people. Severus would pull away the badly done Obliviate and ALbus would gently separate Montagues memory from it. Certain areas of the memory were permanently embedded in the blue spell and couldn't be extracted. Albus sighed and shook his head, waving his wand to dispel the foreign magic. It folded in on itself and disappeared with a pop.

All that was left was the torn and barely pieced together memory of last night. The Potions Master was curious and dubious about what he was going to see. The part of him that cared about education reasoned that Kanda was a competent teacher and it was wholly unfair to deprive everyone of his teaching. The part of him that cared for his students argued that Kanda may be a serious threat to their health. After all, he did seem to mistreat his own apprentice.

Nevertheless, he entered the memory quickly, Dumbledore following close behind. They found themselves observing a small displacement of twigs and leaves as the Disillusioned Montague made his way through the forest. The rustling of the forest was interrupted, probably destroyed by the Obliviate. The memory darkened for a moment and appeared fuzzy as sounds of a sword fight not far away floated to their ears. A woman screamed in pain, a man grunted, something heavy hit the floor.

Severus watched as his student reappeared in front of him, probably having cast the counter spell on himself. His wand was at the ready, he snuck around the bush and then stopped short. Severus and Albus hurried to see what happened.

Kanda Yuu stood there, sword drawn, chest heaving and looking as though he had bathed with blood. A young man knelt in front of him, bloody, battered and begging. Bodies that looked remotely human littered the ground around them, broken and dead.

"Please! Don't kill me!" the young man cried out.

The Defense Professor just lifted his sword high and brought it down.

As if in slow motion, the two professors watched the steel cut into the soft flesh of the young man's neck and glide through it like a hot knife through butter. The man didn't even have time to scream. Severus flinched as the head rolled across the forest floor. As a Potions Master, he spent most of his time brewing for the Dark Lord, seldom having witnessed such a brutal and efficient decapitation. Allen limped out of the shadows, stepped close to Kanda and stumbled. The sword wielder caught his apprentice with an disgusted scowl as if annoyed at having to deal with the injured young man.

The memory blurred again and Montague's voice could be heard

"You monsters!"

Then Kanda's stern tone.

"Obliviate!"

Severus found himself expelled from the memory abruptly. He pulled his head out of the pensieve as quickly as he could, feeling the urge to vomit. Albus quietly gazed into the pensieve where the horrible memory lay and sighed.

"I shall bring in the Aurors and have him arrested." He whispered. Severus couldn't feel sorry for Kanda Yuu. That man was a murderer, killing so cruelly and efficiently as if it didn't bother him in the least bit that he was taking a human life. What about Allen? Albus said 'he' as in singular.

"What about Allen?" Severus asked softly. Allen's birthday was recorded to be in December so he wasn't officially an adult yet. Would he be given a lighter sentence?

"We'll try our best to rehabilitate him." Albus murmured as he moved to the fire place. Severus nodded and settled down on an armchair. This was going to be a long long day.

---

"So how long have you two been having sex?" Cross kept his face carefully neutral as he drank his Whisky.

Allen spat out his drink immediately. Kanda managed to swallow his mouthful before setting down his cup. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at the man who asked.

"No." The swordsman stated flatly. Cross was unrepentant.

"Are you two going to fuck?" He asked crudely. Kanda's glare seemed to have no effect on the older man so the swordsman settled for glowering.

"What made you think that?" Allen sputtered as he cleaned the table with a wave of his wand.

"One, you're not fighting. Two, you're cooperating. Three, you're not fighting. Four, you're defending each other. Five, you are wearing Kanda's shirt. Have I mentioned that you're not fighting?" Cross counted off his fingers and looked at the pair sideways. Allen flushed and pulled his robes tighter around himself. He shifted and tried to sink down into the seat.

"The most efficient way to relieve tension is to have sex. Don't worry, I won't tell if you are." The General leaned across the table to touch his apprentice's cheek in an affectionate way. He didn't move and smirked to himself when Kanda pulled out his sword underneath the table and pressed against his inner thigh. With a snap of his wrist Kanda could easily sterilize the General forever. That is, if Cross didn't move. It was a blatant threat of castration.

Cross rubbed Allen's cheek and nodded approvingly, ignoring the steel that was steadily digging into his trouser material and slowly sliding up to the juncture of his thighs. He smirked at Kanda before pulling back his hand and reclining in his seat. The swordsman managed to keep his face impassive as if he hadn't been poking a General in the balls with a sharp pointy object.

Allen wasn't as oblivious as he seemed though and gave Kanda a warning look, trying to stave off any confrontations. The Japanese man rolled his eyes, an obvious sign of acquiescence. Oh wow, thought Cross Marian, his little apprentice managed to tame the beast. He couldn't help but smile fondly at the thought. Allen was all grown up and bossing his boyfriend around.

"I won't dally you two for long. I'm sure you have more _important_… things to _do_." Cross said, standing up and leaving a galleon on the table for his drink.

"Master, wait!"

It was the pleading tone in Allen's voice that made the Marshall stop in his tracks. Cross made to turn only have something hit his head hard and knock him to the ground. He stared up at his apprentice with a dazed look. Allen stood over him with that black smile of his, holding a mallet that he just conjured.

"I've always wanted to do that." He said cheerfully and dusted himself off. Kanda snorted, looking barely amused as he followed his partner out of the café.

Cross stared after the duo and now that he was alone, finally allowed himself to smile. Kids grew up so fast.

---

The memory was set on replay for the Aurors who turned up. Fudge was scowling and Umbridge was strangely silent as they watched Kanda decapitate the young man repeatedly. After some digging, the young man had been identified as a Squib named Larry Dickinson who lived alone on the outskirts of London. He had gone missing two days before the incident.

"We have never allowed such a person through immigration." Fudge declared. The clerk in charge of said department nodded frantically. He would have remembered Kanda and Allen because of their distinct appearances and personalities. Yet somehow, there were papers stamped with the Ministry's approval and dated one week before the foreign duo's arrival. They could detect no magic on the papers, surely the pair couldn't have forged the documents, could they?

As for Umbridge, the toad like woman was quite unhappy with this new development. Professor Kanda was the only professor that didn't express outright dislike of her and actually seemed to take her opinions into consideration. He was cold and polite, quite unlike the rest of the staff who would have nothing to do with her. Yet the evidence was staring her in the face, evidence that Professor Kanda was a cold blooded killer just like the rest of the Death Eaters.

She merely stood aside, quiet for once as she let the Aurors lay their trap. Charms were set up, wards were woven, the trap was intricately set so that the moment Kanda took five steps into the Great Hall, he would be immobilized by the wards set in place. The spells were keyed to recognize his magical signature and nullify it so that he wouldn't be able to use magic at all. This would leave the Auror's free to disarm him and arrest him. Allen would be trapped one step into the Hall, leaving space for the professors to separate the two and presumably get the white haired teen to safety. The whole set up depended on timing and precision.

They were due back any minute now. The Aurors on patrol duty in Diagon Alley had reported seeing the two emerging from a small café, talking about heading back to Hogwarts. Dolores wondered abstractly if she would get in trouble for making the portkey for Kanda in the first place. He had asked her quite politely and she obliged although legally, she was supposed to get clearance.

The Aurors fell into place, disguising themselves with various means. Invisibility cloaks, illusion spells, Polyjuice, they all looked like students or part of the hall. Professors were keeping the students busy in their dorms, preventing them from coming down and ruining everything.

A small commotion outside alerted everyone to the arrival of the duo. Their voices could be heard talking softly outside.

Everyone watched in trepidation as a boot clad foot stepped through the entrance. Kanda was walking ahead, saying something about having to check his flowers. Just as he took the fifth step and Allen stepped into the hall, there was a whirring sound and a very loud click.

"Kanda Yuu, you are under arrest for the torture and murder of Larry Dickinson." Kingsley said as he stepped forward, letting his Invisibility cloak slip away. The swordsman glared at him as he twisted around to look at Allen. The white haired teen was twisting around, trying to get free but to no avail. He was sending his master frantic and despairing looks, one hand clapped to his scarred eye.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kanda snarled, trying to jerk his legs away and get them to budge. They were firmly stuck to the ground. Aurors revealed themselves one by one and advanced on the Japanese man with their wands drawn

"Remember this?" Tonks pointed her wand at the pensieve her partner was holding. The image of Kanda rose into the air, holding his sword. Dolores watched yet again as the memory depicted the brutal decapitation of Larry Dickinson.

A look of comprehension dawned on Kanda's face. To everyone's surprise and horror, he started to laugh. Even Allen had a look of disbelief as he watched the swordsman chortle. He finally straightened and closed his eyes.

"How long do you think I'd live if I forcibly unstuck myself?" The question was directed at Allen. Onlookers shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't do that could he? No one was that powerful. You either had to override the wards and runes holding the spell in place or destroy the stone to which the runes and the wards were anchored. The white haired apprentice didn't miss a beat.

"Quite long but we don't know if you can regrow entire limbs." The teen replied softly. Eyes widened as the onlookers realized what Kanda was planning to do. The swordsman shrugged. Instead of reaching for his wand, he drew his sword and nimbly reflected the spells directed at him. A few ricocheting spells caught the Auror's own men, knocking them unconscious.

"Transport him quick!" someone yelled. Runes laid out on the stone in a circle around Kanda glowed and the swordsman disappeared with a pop along with the Aurors. Allen cried out his name and tried to scramble to where Kanda had stood but to no avail. Professor McGonagall approached from the side, hurrying down the stairs and attempting to calm the young man.

"Mr. Walker! Do not panic!" she shouted over Allen's frantic calls. The white haired teen turned to her with wild eyes. "You will be able to move once the spell wears off, it's anchored to the stone you see." The Irish witch told him. Allen seemed to calm down.

"Where are they taking my master?" He asked, looking desolate, lost and utterly small. The Irish witch felt a pang of sadness and sympathy for the young lad.

"They'll question him in the headmaster's office. Then take him to the Ministry." She replied softly. Allen turned to look at her. He mouthed 'Thank you' and punched the stone floor with his left hand. A spiderweb crack spread from the point of impact. Allen struck again and the crack lengthened. The spell holding him in place glowed briefly as it dissipated, having lost a sturdy place to anchor the teen. Before any of the remaining Aurors or professors could do anything, the Slytherin pulled out his wand and tapped himself, disappearing from sight almost immediately.

There was an uproar as everyone panicked, trying to find the invisible Allen. No one really noticed that there was no soft pat of boot on stone to signal that Allen had moved in the Great hall.

Indeed Allen had ducked out of the Great Hall quickly, circling around to find a way to get up to the headmaster's office. Brooms! He thought, he had seen Harry flying around on them.

"Timcampy!" He shouted, not caring that he was giving away his position as he raced towards the Quidditch pitch.

"Timcampy!" He was rewarded with the soft beat of wings around his head when he reached the shed and busted down the door with a well placed kicked. He pulled out one of the better looking brooms and hurried out.

"How do I fly a broom?!" Allen asked the thin air. A projection appeared almost immediately, faint and wavering, indicating that it was a recording from a long time ago. A small figure on the pitch held his hand over his broom. _'Up!'_ It cried and swung one leg over the wooden stick. The General copied the motion and was relieved when the broom jumped into his hand. He put one leg over it, balanced himself and kicked off exactly as like the moving recording did. He was pleased to find that it worked perfectly.

The white haired teen tapped the broom and made it disappear too as he rose higher and higher on the sturdy wood. He managed to make it circle the pitch once before flying off to find the headmaster's office. He found it almost too easily. There were sounds of a muffled fight coming from the window after all. He looked straight in at the window and found himself staring at Kanda.

His colleague was twisting everywhere, amazingly deflecting most the spells that were sent his way. One or two grazed him but did no lasting damage. A stray one hit his left side and Kanda crumpled for a bare second. The Akuma moved behind him, disguised as a blonde young woman. There were two of them but the other was far away. Allen could only see the despairing soul among all the others.

The warning on his lips died as Kanda raised his head, furrowed his brow and stabbed himself with his own sword. Someone screamed in terror at the sight of blood oozing out of Kanda's chest. Allen leapt off the broom, barely managing to snag the ledge and climb in as his partner simultaneously invocated and twisted his sword. The invisible boy slammed his fist into the stone floor when the Akuma burst into dust.

"Don't breath it in! It might be dangerous!" Someone yelled. Allen ignored them, punching the floor three more times, raising more dust, causing the floor to break and crack. The hazy glow of light let him know that the spell had dissipated. Allen straightened and tapped himself, appearing in the office. His knuckles were bloody. He might have been strong but he wasn't invincible.

Somebody screamed as a loud crack rang out through the office. Something shattered and a man grunted in pain. Spells flew through the commotion, miraculously missing the duo. Kanda sent out his Hell's Insects. They must have found their target because the room was filled with even more dust. Allen's eye whirred and clicked again, returning to normal now that the threat was gone.

Abruptly, Allen shoved Kanda towards the window.

"Go! They can't take my Innocence!" he whispered. The swordsman took a few steps forward then doubled back and grabbed Allen by the waist.

"Be safe." The swordsman whispered and placed a lingering kiss on Allen's mouth. He backed up to the window and jumped onto the ledge. Allen touched his lips, and stared right at Kanda as the swordsman cast one last look back. He leapt. Allen turned back to the fight.

"Timcampy! Disguise me!" the parasite Exorcist hissed, an image flickered over the teenager as Timcampy called up a recording of Kanda.

It was just in time, Allen raised his hands slowly as everyone trained their wands on him, the dust slowly settling.

"Kanda Yuu! You're under arrest for resisting arrest!" someone shouted. Allen looked around at them, silently counting to twenty. They all had cast bubblehead charms on themselves it seemed. It was good, seeing as though Akuma dust was poisonous if inhaled. Already, Allen could feel his Innocence rejecting the poison. He slowly knelt and placed his hands on top of his head, the image that Timcampy cast over him followed suit.

An Auror approached him slowly and made a grab for his arm. Allen grinned to himself as his hand passed right through. Kanda's image was still taller than him. Timcampy let the recording fall and from the sound of his flapping wings, he escaped out the window. Allen raised his head and looked as confused as he could.

"I'm not Kanda!" he protested weakly, smirking inside at the resulting looks of horror and panic. One of the Aurors, a lady with violently pink hair hauled him up roughly and patted him down.

"He really isn't the pretty bastard!" she exclaimed. Allen gave her a lost look, pouring all of his feeling into it. He could see the instant effect it had on the rest of the law Enforcement. Even Severus looked as if he wanted to believe Allen.

The white haired teen flinched realistically when the pink haired woman waved her wand and was rewarded with a round of pitying glances. Almost all of the officers had lowered their wands. Allen dropped his gaze and wrapped his arms around himself to make himself a smaller target.

"Let's get you to Poppy Pomfrey."

Allen wasn't sure when Professor McGonagall had gotten to the scene but he let her lead him down stairs to the Hospital ward. He ignored the Aurors that trailed behind him and clutched the Transfiguration Mistress's robe tightly.

"They won't hurt my Master will they?" he whispered loud enough for the people following him to listen. "He's all I have left." He added for effect. The uncomfortable shifting behind him let him know what the seeds of doubt were growing steadily. Sometimes, it was good to look and be young.

---

Finding himself stuck to the floor wasn't an everyday occurrence. Being framed was even more rare. But it was contemplating cutting off his own feet that took the cake. Kanda didn't have any time to do it before he was transported right to the Headmaster's office. He blinked as colours swirled around him and blinded him.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Someone cried.

The spell tried to wrench Mugen from his hand but some time during the altercation he had invocated without noticing. His sword refused to leave his side and it was just as well because the Japanese man had to struggle to hold on to it. Kanda had his wand in his other hand, even though he wasn't able to cast any spells, he could still use it to jab people in the ribs. He did exactly that, feeling a few spells graze him as he struggled to reflect them all. A numbing spell hit his side and caused his left side to lose all feeling. Mugen deactivated as he lost concentration and nearly lost grip on his wand. It was a serious handicap, being stuck to the ground and unable to move. It wasn't the Aurors that he was worried about. It was the Akuma that was lurking around, probably disguised as one of the Aurors. Usually only level two's and above could disguise themselves and since Kanda didn't know its specialty or it's appearance, he was at a serious disadvantage.

_Behind you._ He distinctly heard someone say the phrase and on instinct alone, he plunged his sword through his own chest. Someone gasped and the swordsman felt the steel go out through his back and dig deep into someone else's flesh. He gritted his teeth and gave it a murderous twist just as he invocated his Innocence. Whatever it was behind him screamed in pain and burst into dust, providing a momentary cover.

The ground under him cracked and then broke into tinier slabs. Almost instantly Kanda found that he could move. Good, that would save him time on re-growing his feet if he was even capable of that. Allen slowly appeared in front of him. A scream, a crack, a grunt as something broke. Kanda whipped around, unleashing his Hell's insects, not caring that more dust was raised. Allen grabbed his arm and shoved him towards the window.

_"Go! They can't take my Innocence!"_ The General whispered. Kanda took a few steps towards the opening. On an impulse, he closed the distance between them and took Allen by the waist.

"Be safe." Kanda whispered and kissed Allen chastely. He backtracked quickly and just before he leapt, he cast one last glance backwards. Allen was staring at him, fingers on his lips.

Kanda burned that image into his mind as he let himself fall towards the ground, curling himself into a ball and tapping himself with his wand to Disillusion himself. He landed awkwardly due to his mostly numb left side and broke his ankle with a loud crack. The swordsman took a brief moment to wrench it back into place and freeze it there with a freezing charm, counting on the leather of his boot to prevent frost bite.

He didn't look back as he limped off towards the Forbidden Forest, there was no time to doubt. He stayed on the outskirts, erasing his tracks as he went. His priority lay in getting to Diagon Alley and then getting himself a disguise while Allen distracted the Aurors.

He made it to Hogsmeade easily and slipped into one of the reconstructed shops. There was a fireplace burning merrily and a flowerpot on top of the mantel. The swordsman pinched some of the Floo Powder and waited till the shop keeper had turned his head, then with a murmur of "Leaky Cauldron!" He was gone.

The landing jarred his ankle but the ice had numbed it enough that it didn't hurt as much. People turned to look when the fire flared green but didn't bother to investigate when no one came through. Kanda limped through the crowds and towards Knockturn Alley. He entered the first clothing store he saw started picking up garments.

"You better pay for those." The witch at the counter spoke up, wrinkling her nose at the floating clothes. Kanda pulled the last of his wizarding money, a galleon and several sickles and set them on the table then promptly disappeared into the back alley where he made himself visible again.

He could recall many a spell used to disguise but any one of them required a lot of magical reserve to keep going and could be dispelled at any given moment. Kanda was resorting to the age old methods of concealment. Good old-fashioned dress up.

The swordsman discarded his clothing quickly and pulled on the garments he had picked out. A fitting tunic and an ankle length skirt. His hair was gathered into a low pony tail and his head was covered with a plain brown shawl. He wouldn't say that he was beautiful but he could certainly pass as a young lady as long as he didn't speak. He lumped his shirt and pants together and incinerated them with a flick of his wand. Then he tore his robes into strips and wrapped his sword in it. After a moment's deliberation, a couple handfuls of cloth also found its way into his tunic. Turning, he made sure to take little steps out of the dark alley and back onto the main street.

Past Diagon Alley, past the Leaky Cauldron and onto the streets of London, Kanda looked around surreptitiously to make sure he wasn't followed. He forced himself to walk calmly till he was a block away. It was up to Allen to find the Innocence now that Kanda was a wanted man. All the swordsman could do was to wait and provide backup from outside. His ankle was beginning to heal itself and it ached dully, a distant thrumming of heat in his joint. So lost in his thoughts was Kanda until he bumped into a young man on the street corner.

"Kanda-sama?"

Said swordsman looked up and made eye contact. It was one of the Finders from Head Quarters. There were always a few stationed around during long term missions and Kanda wordlessly thanked God that he had the fortune to meet one right now. Kanda had never worked with said Finder but he knew Lavi had. The Japanese man nodded discreetly and quickly brushed his hand across his face as if getting rid of something there. The gesture of a mouth zip was subtle and could only be seen if the other person was looking carefully.

"Oh I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone." The Finder caught on and replied cheerfully. He turned and walked towards another building. Kanda kept walking in the same direction and then turned in at a small dark street. He didn't have to wait long for the Finder to turn up.

"My name is Sohma. Are you in trouble?" the young man asked. Kanda pushed back his shawl.

"I'll tell you later, can you get in touch with HQ?" he asked. Sohma nodded and pointed to a motel in the distance. The meaning didn't have to be voiced. Kanda nodded brusquely and pulled his shawl back on, letting Sohma lead the way.

---

"The Akuma were destroyed." Voldemort murmured more to himself than to present company. They included the Earl, Tyki Mikk, Bellatrix and the twins. The former didn't look too pleased at all. Voldemort didn't really blame him.

The Earl didn't really mind the fact that Voldemort had been commanding his Akuma to do frivolous things like infiltrate the Forbidden Forest. He didn't care that his two spies in the Ministry had been offed. Rather, the man was irked about how they only managed to frame Kanda and still hadn't managed to kill either of the two. Things had been going so nicely even without them to put the gears in motion. The Slytherins had been naturally nosy, Dumbledore had been his usual grandfatherly self which made him recover the memory, Fudge as usual just went along with the tide and had Kanda arrested. Yet somehow, Kanda eluded them and Allen managed to convince the magic folk that he was just a poor orphan whose only family left was his master.

"Find him and kill him." The Earl snapped angrily. Tyki Mikk scowled at Voldemort before exiting through the door. Bellatrix glanced at the remaining men before taking her leave.

---

_A/N:_

_I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Kanda strikes me as the kind of no nonsense person who would do anything for the sake of the mission which includes cross dressing. This is a birthday chapter. Heeehee. I spent all day yesterday writing this. You guys probably won't get any more for some time._


	13. Chapter 13

13.1

I reworked the entire chapter simply because I was dissatisfied with it. Allen is definitely darker and not as cheery as he used to be.

---

Allen was quite used to rumours by now. Having an odd appearance usually meant that people would whisper about him wherever he went. Someone once asked him if he lost his lover since his hair was white. Apparently, there was a legend about a hero whose hair turned white overnight after he lost his lover. Allen would usually smile and let them think whatever they want because he had gotten used to the whispers. However, this time, he wasn't smiling. He hung his head uncomfortably. After the initial adrenaline had worn off, he felt awkward as he moved through the corridors where several students had emerged from their dorms to look and see what was going on.

The young general sat on the pristine white sheets, feeling quite guilty for leaving a trail of dust wherever he moved. Madame Pomfrey tutted as she bustled around the ward, collecting several vials as she went. Two Aurors, one Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt stood to the side. Professor McGonagall stood on the other side, looking as stern as ever even with dirt and debris in her hair. Despite Madame Pomfrey's many attempts to get them to leave, the three adults insisted on staying.

"Drink this!" The mediwitch ordered, pushing a vial of what looking Blood Replenishing potion into Allen's hands. He took it quickly, uncorked it and drank it. The cool glass against his lips sent a shiver through his body and he briefly recalled the feeling of Kanda's lips against his own, warm but chapped. When he lowered the vial, he noticed both Aurors looking at horror at his bloody knuckles. Allen looked at them with disinterest. He always healed pretty quickly and even though his hand felt sore, he had much worse. Memories resurfaced one after another, each one with Kanda as his partner. How many times had they fought together as partners and colleagues? How many times did they get separated?

Allen was barely aware that Madam Pomfrey had taken his hands and removed his gloves gently. Tonks made a choked noise when his disfigured hand came into view and Professor McGonagall looked away pointedly. The young general tried not to let it bother him too much, his arm did cause a bit of a shock to most people.

The mediwitch tapped his bloody hand and Allen a sensation of someone pouring uncomfortably hot water over it. Within a bare moment, the feeling was gone and his hand didn't hurt. Allen flexed his fingers several times then made a fist. He noticed the way the Transfiguration mistress regarded him warily. He didn't blame her, after she was the one who witnessed his strength first hand. Usually when a seventeen year old boy's fist went one on one with a stone floor, it was the fist that lost, not the floor.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Madame Pomfrey asked, looking quite harried. "Are you still hurting from last night?" She pressed on insistently. Allen inched back on the bed then pulled up his trouser legs to show her the bruises and cuts he received from flying debris. The mediwitch healed them, grumbling about how Aurors should ask first, cast later. Now look what they did! A largely innocent boy had gotten hurt because of them and didn't they know he had been injured last night?

Allen then became aware of the fact that his side did hurt after all and was throbbing angrily. He poked it with his bare fingers and was rewarded with a sharp sting. It was minor enough that he didn't wince but still painful enough that he jerked a little. The mediwitch noticed and crossed her arms angrily.

"And were you planning on telling me about that?" she demanded. Allen cowered back a little meekly. He discarded his robes and then lifted his shirt so that the witch could take a look at it. The wound was an angry red but showed no signs of reopening. Nevertheless, Madame Pomfrey made him drink another Scar removing potion then put some balm on the area to sooth the muscles there.

Having an audience while being treated was something Allen didn't want to go through ever again. It was one thing to be treated by the school nurse alone and another entirely to have armed and wary magical folk staring at him while the nurse attempted to get him to remove all his clothing to see if he was injured anywhere else.

Fortunately for him, he won the battle by giving Poppy Pomfrey a lost and pitiful look. She turned slightly to glare at the three other adults present as if blaming them for not being able to treat a patient. They backed off and shifted to stand just outside the curtain. The mediwitch sniffed but allowed Allen to stand up from the bed. He did so slowly and pulled his gloves back on.

"Mr. Walker, you have to come with us." The one called Tonks declared. Allen recognized her as the lady who had hauled him up when they discovered he wasn't Kanda. They probably still couldn't figure out what happened and how his 'master' disappeared. After all, they were sure that they had trapped the real swordsman.

The white haired teen said nothing as he turned to the Aurors. They looked surprised that he was cooperating with them. Well, Allen would be too considering that they had just tried to arrest his 'master'. Of course, they didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and led him through the winding halls of Hogwarts down deep into the dungeons.

Allen wasn't fazed at all when they led him into cold room without any windows. It seemed like the rest of the Auror team had gone on ahead to prepare it for whatever they were going to do. Dumbledore stood to one side, the twinkle gone from his eye. Severus too looked rather impassive. Allen had a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to go well.

"Please, sit." Dolores Umbridge said in her sickeningly sweet manner. Allen's eyes went to the stone chair in the middle of the room. He moved over to it quietly and sat down without much ado, further surprising the rest of the Aurors.

_Kerclang!_ Allen started as chains draped themselves over his wrists and ankles. He must have looked terrified because many of the Aurors shot him sympathetic looks. Thankfully, the metal wasn't drawn tight or the young General would have been very uncomfortable.

"Would you consent to Veritaserum?" The pink clad woman asked, moving to stand right beside Allen. The white haired teen was at a loss. Veritaserum, if he recalled correctly, would make him tell the truth. Yet he had no way to refuse it without making Kanda and subsequently himself look guilty.

Dolores Umbridge leaned closer and smiled, about to repeat the question. She smelt of strawberries and pond water, sweet but stagnant in a way. Allen met her gaze steadily. She blinked twice as if to say it was alright. All the General could do was to hope that she wouldn't ask something incriminating. Hesitantly, he nodded.

Professor Snape stepped forward and administered it according to procedure, measuring out three drops and letting them fall on Allen's tongue. The teen felt a calm fall over him and at the same time, had the urge to break out of there screaming.

"What is your name?" Dolores asked softly.

"Allen Walker." This was a harmless question. The General could have fought the urge to answer but somehow, he felt that since it didn't matter, he would just answer.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Do your parents know about this?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"They abandoned me when I was seven in the middle of winter."

There was a minute of very, very awkward silence where even Professor Snape looked rather discomfited by this admission. Allen lowered his head, somewhere in his mind, he felt the deep dark urge to admit that he did have a foster father but another part of him pushed back against that feeling, overwhelming it with the simple logic 'They never asked.'

"How long have you been with your master?" Dolores continued, a small hitch in her voice that barely betrayed her discomfort. Allen instinctively thought of General Cross Marian and replied without a thought.

"Since I was ten." Well technically, he wasn't with Cross Marian now anymore but they never did specify which master and Kanda wasn't his master anyway.

"Where is your master?"

"I have no idea." He didn't even have to think about that one. Exorcists could work together and independently whenever the situation called for it. Sure, it was better if partners remained partners for the entire mission but being separated by accident happened more often than not and every time it happened, they were supposed to assume the other out of commission and complete the mission as best as they could.

It was entirely possible that Kanda had gone into hiding, reported a failure and requested backup. Unlikely, but definitely possible. He also had no idea where Cross could be if the man hadn't gotten himself killed already.

"Do you know where he might have gone?" Kingsley interjected.

A long silence as Allen thought it over, frowning as memories flitted through his mind. Kanda had nowhere to go right now.

"No." He answered finally. There was a heavy pause where the Aurors exchanged looks. Professor Snape looked very unsettled and was whispering with Auror Tonks at the back of the room. Allen strained his ears but couldn't hear them speak.

"Did Professor Yuu Kanda kill Larry Dickinson?" The witch's voice jolted him from his musings. Allen blinked up at her pinkness. The answer was plain in his mind. After all, he knew what that thing was and it was definitely not a human.

"No, he did not." He replied, the words falling from his lips smoothly like water from a waterfall. There was a collective murmur among the Aurors but Dolores looked very satisfied. Allen knew that the logical question after that would be 'Then what did he kill?' but the witch did not ask that. Instead she folded her arms and looked at the crowd.

"Well, there you have it." She announced. "He says that his master did not kill Larry Dickinson." Professor Umbridge gave him a sideways look. The white haired teen felt displaced all of a sudden. She knew he knew something but wasn't going to make him tell in front of all these people. That look promised that she wanted answers from him and would make sure to get them later.

Reluctantly it seemed, Kingsley waved his wand and the chains fell away with a resounding clang. Allen stood up and brushed bits of rust off his clothes.

"Very well. We shall cease pursuit but keep an out for the man." Fudge said in a disapproving tone. He turned to Dolores and gave her an imperious look. "Administer the restrictions on the boy would you, Dolores?"

The pink witch simpered in that overly sweet way of hers and nodded.

"Of course, Minister. It would be my pleasure." She gave Allen a look that was positively evil. Or it would have been if her lips had curled up just a little more. The young General stared at her as the chains fell away with a loud clang and allowed him to stand.

One of the Aurors came forward with a tray. On top of it sat a very plain bracelet, thin and silver, looking all in the world like a normal accessory.

"Your right hand please." Miss Umbridge said with a thin smile. Allen raised it hesitantly. The witch took it in her surprisingly firm grip and slipped the bracelet over it. It melded to his wrist immediately and he could feel a chill spread through his arm. There was a violent jolt as his Innocence disagreed with it almost immediately.

"Ah," Allen clapped his left hand over his mouth to stifle his gasp. Okay, that just came in second on his list of things he never wanted to experience again, right after being infected by Akuma poison. He fell to his knees as his magic too joined the fight. He never realized how much his magic was a part of him until he felt the bracelet clamp down on it and restrain it. Searing pain raced through his body and he curled up on instinct. Fire and ice warred and all of a sudden, he could feel that presence, the one that he had lived with for ages, rise up.

Anger filled him but Allen quelled it forcefully. _How dare they?!_ It did an imitation of a snarl, the first that Allen ever heard it speak. _They're scared._ Allen fought back. The 14th subsided a little, bristling at this indignity. He became aware of Dolore's fingers, wrapped tightly around his upper arm, supporting him as he gasped for air.

"What happened?" Someone asked

"It's not supposed to do that!" Another voice exclaimed. In the midst of the voices, Miss Umbridge gave them all an excuse and ushered Allen out of there.

It was only when the painfully subsided that Allen realized that he was sitting in her office, staring at her overly pink décor and wondering if she had colour scheme issues. She didn't look sorry at all and in fact, she looked a little too calm.

"You did it." He said. It wasn't a question. She shrugged, eyes cold.

"Now they won't bother us." Miss Umbridge replied. Allen stared at her while the 14th grumbled in his mind.

"And I'm still under the effects of Veritaserum." Allen said slowly.

"There also happens to be powerful sticking charms on that chair." Miss Umbridge smiled thinly, looking very unforgiving.

It was then Allen found that he much preferred the simpering sweet look she gave everyone else.

---

"You're supposed to be on the mission." A female voice told him in a bossy tone. Kanda didn't stop to look at her, instead programming one of the Finder's golems to send a secret message to Timcampy. Just in case Allen accessed it.

"Not dressing up as a woman." Michelle went on. "Or asking us to find the means to continue doing so." She gave him a very disapproving look. Sohma looked a little distressed as he attempted to get her to stop talking. Kanda didn't blame him, the swordsman was still notorious for being mean and cold towards the Finders whom he used to deem useless.

His presence had not been well received with the team of Finders currently assigned to London. He hadn't known that there were that many of them but Sohma had sent out a signal and they had shown up one by one.

There was a tall black man called Carl who brought him some food, medical supplies and a sword cleaning kit. An androgynous girl called Kitty brought some clothing for both genders while Michelle brought make up and some accessories for him. Those were the ones who stayed. The others had merely shown up in areas close to the motel and received a briefing from Sohma. All of them were told to keep an eye and ear out for strange happenings and to note all suspicious or extremely normal people.

Kanda could have given Michelle his famous glare, drawn his sword and threatened her. Yet he merely threw the woman, obviously a new recruit, an expressionless look that stopped her in the middle of her lecture. Kanda did not feel the need to explain himself and never would. Instead, he donned the shapely cheongsam that they had procured out of places he didn't want to know and twisted his hair up into a bun. He didn't really have the energy to get angry now. What little strength he had left was to be conserved, better spent on his mission, and making sure Allen was safe.

His ankle itched and his chest tingled unpleasantly. There was still a faint burning sensation as his body forced itself to repair. A grimace found its way onto his face. Recon, oh how loathed doing it. He hated it even more when he was the only one capable of doing it because if anything went wrong, he couldn't say _"You should have sent someone else._"

The reflection of a rather average Chinese woman looked back at him contemplatively. The worst thing about recon? He really did look like a girl if he made an effort to do so. He didn't have a very angular face or facial hair. Covering his Adam's apple giving a few artificial curves made him look feminine enough to pass as lady.

There was nothing Kanda could do about it though and he was stuck making lemonade for now. The swordsman picked up his treasured weapon and slipped it into the long cardboard tube Sohma handed it to him.

"Your name is Tian Jia Rou. You are twenty two and looking for a long lost relative in Europe. You're lost and don't know much. The Leaky Cauldron contains the main arch to Diagon Alley but there are back ways into the other smaller streets. One of them is seven blocks away and takes you into Knockturn Alley."

Kanda closed his eyes and made a conscious effort to remember all that as Sohma dusted some powder onto his face and helped to apply a thin layer of gloss. The Finder took a small bottle from Carl and sprayed a fine mist over the exorcist. It smelled faintly of apples.

"I'm Tian Jia Rou. Twenty Two, lost relative I would say nephew. Slipped into Knockturn without really realizing it." He repeated. Sohma nodded and put the finishing touches on Kanda's make up. The swordsman licked the gloss discretely, secretly liking the plum flavour that Michelle had somehow managed to get.

"You'll want to appear lost and new at everything. Go to a bar called Stillwater. We managed to overhear that there are many Aurors that go there to catch thieves and suspects or get information. Start a fight and get them to introduce you to the magic world again." Sohma instructed him, patting him down and adjusting the oriental get up. The Finder finally stepped back and gave him a once over.

Kanda took a steadying breath while Kitty handed him a small purse. He could do this, he had done it before. The brunette picked up the cardboard tube, feeling the familiar weight of Mugen inside. The Japanese man cradled it in his arms then opened the door.

Seven blocks wasn't far if he was in his usual boots. Luckily Kitty had gotten him flats. Kanda would never be able to run in heels. He trotted along the shoes clicking against the pavement as he wove through crowds and turned at the corner. It was a shadier area where the stores seemed to be crammed together uncomfortably. Kanda could feel eyes tracing the false contours of his body. The hair on the back of his neck rose slowly. He slipped through a shortcut between two high buildings then spotted the tiny opening across the street.

He crossed the road carefully. It would be silly for him to get hit by a car after all. He feigned mild surprise at seeing the doorway which seemed very conspicuous in the middle of a wall. Then raising his hand slowly and hoping that no one was watching he opened it.

It swung open without a sound. Kanda stepped through, noting through the corner of his eye that there Carl was at the far end of the street pretending to read a paper. The simple gesture of tailing him despite not being able to really do anything useful if he was attacked warmed Kanda's insides marginally.

The brunette felt just a little better as he slipped into the dark areas of Knockturn Alley. Although Sohma said it led to Knockturn, they weren't quite sure where in Knockturn. Kanda thanked God silently that it was in a remote area where people generally didn't take any notice of you. He took small stumbling steps, pretending to look around at everything. It took a bit of searching but he located the bar that Sohma told him about. The sign hung from surprisingly well polished rings and it stood out amongst the general grime in that area. There was a call girl there or so Kanda assumed was her profession but she paid him no notice.

"Why hello there!" Someone wheezed near to Kanda's ear the moment he stepped inside. It took every single drop of self control Kanda had not to whip out his sword and stab the offender through the gut. Instead he forced his lips to curl slightly in what he hoped was a nervous smile. The sight of the patron in dirty brown robes reeking of alcohol made his stomach turn.

"Ni Hao." He whispered softly, edging away and heading for the bar quickly. Thankfully that man didn't pursue Kanda. He made a point of leaning over the counter to talk to the bartender.

"Can you tell me where I am now?" He asked, grimacing inwardly at his horrible faked accent. The bartender which was a witch wearing only a tunic and boots glared at Kanda. The swordsman took that as a cue to back off.

He bumped into a man behind him and turned around quickly. Oh this one was even worse than the precious one. Not only was he drunk and stank of vomit, he had a very obvious problem in his pants. Kanda did not want to know what effect he had on other men. It was downright insulting to his masculinity.

"Yoouuu sho pretteh." The man slurred, making a grab for Kanda. The brunette ducked under his arm, clutching his sword in his arms and tripped the drunk into another patron.

"You bothering this lady here?" another patron snarled.

"Back orf! She's mine!" the drunk shot back, he swigged from the bottle in his hand and then pulled out his wand.

"Boys, don't fight in here!" The bartender tried to stop them but the first spell had already been cast. Whatever it was caused the counter to splinter into tiny fragments with a loud boom. Kanda threw up his arms and dropped to the floor to protect himself. Someone grabbed his arm and he looked up. Names flashed through his mind before he matched one to the familiar face.

"Come with me!" the man shouted over the racket. Kanda could see red robed wizards and witches appearing in the bar shouting for order but no one listened. He nodded to the brown haired man and they disappeared with a loud crack.

Kanda dropped to the ground when they reappeared. He hated Apparation It disoriented him terribly. The swordsman took a moment to look around and take in the surroundings. They were still in Knockturn Alley, just a ways from the bar and safe from wayward spells.

----

Remus Lupin hadn't meant to grab the lady and Apparate out of there. Technically, he was supposed to meet Mundungus there to pass on some news but when the brunette entered the bar, his nostrils were filled with a blandly sweet smell that drew him to her.

He had gotten up to approach the Chinese lady but someone had gotten there first. Words were exchanged and before Lupin could say "I'm a werewolf!" a fight had broken out. It was just his luck that it was a spell flinging fight instead of a bar brawl. He hastily crossed the distance, grabbed her arm and apparated out of there.

"Are you alright?" Lupin asked. Up close, the witch looked much younger than he had initially thought. She turned wide eyes upon him and clutched the tube in her hands close to her chest.

"Where am I?" She asked in a faint voice. "Who are you and how did those people manage to cast strange lights?" She continued, making no move to get off the ground. Lupin bit his lip. Oh dear, was this an unsuspecting Muggle who stumbled across the Magical world?

"My name is Remus Lupin." The werewolf supplied gently, helping her to get up. "You're in Knockturn Alley and those people are wizards." He could have sworn that there was a cold triumphant look in her eyes but he dismissed that as a trick of the light.

"Oh.' She said softly. "Perhaps that's what mother meant when she said uncle was weird." She murmured to herself. The werewolf took a breath and the scent was so much stronger. The rational part of him insisted that this wasn't normal. Another part wanted to believe in love at first scent.

"Are you a witch, Miss…" He asked, hoping that she would supply her name.

"Oh, how rude of me!" She exclaimed in that soft husky voice of hers. "My name is Tian Jia Rou." She smiled at him shyly, casting her gaze downwards. Remus felt protective of her immediately despite the feeling that something was really wrong with how this was going.

"I don't think I am a witch but my uncle might be one." She offered, taking hold of the werewolf's arm. "My mother told me to find him."

Remus smiled warmly at her. Miss Tian wouldn't be considered pretty or beautiful in the traditional sense. Yet he found the young lady attractive because of her slightly boyish look.

"Well, I can help you get in touch with people who would be able to find him." He offered. Miss Tian smiled brightly.

"You could? Thank you so much!" She stepped back and bowed respectfully. Her dark eyes seemed to fill with happiness and was that a trace of mirth? The thought vanished from his mind when she leaned close to him.

"I'm sorry to bother you but could you find me a place to stay tonight?" She asked. Remus immediately thought of Number 12 Grimmaulds place but the rational part of his mind overrode that instantly.

"This way, Miss Tian." He gestured towards Diagon Alley with a broad smile. She smiled, shy again, eyes not daring to meet his face.

"Please, you can call me Rou." She whispered, following the werewolf as he led the way. Remus couldn't explain it but his heart swelled with happiness.

---

Allen glared at Miss Umbridge murderously. So this was why she helped him in the first place. She deliberately asked him non specific questions that had allowed him to get out of trouble to gain his trust. Stuck to the chair, he had been forced to answer her questions.

"_What did Professor Yuu Kanda kill, if it wasn't Larry Dickinson."_

"_How did it take on Larry's form?"_

"_What are Akuma, exactly?"_

"_Why did you come here in the first place?"_

Little by little, she forced him to tell her everything. The worst thing was that Allen was powerless to fight her. When she said there was a sticking charm, Dolores really meant it. Allen had placed his hands on the arms of the chairs and couldn't even lift a finger. The 14th raged in his mind trying to override the Veritaserum. The white haired General had never felt anything like it before. That constant presence had never really spoken up or done anything to him until now. It only surfaced in that state between sleep and waking when Allen wasn't fully conscious. Now it was a tidal wave trying to take over.

"I think we're done here." Umbridge said, pitch notably higher than when she begun, reflecting on the loss of her confidence. She now knew the truth, the whole ugly truth about why Kanda had come to this school, about Allen ranking higher than the dark haired man, about what they discovered in the forest, about the war they had been fighting for years, about everything.

Maybe Allen was deluding himself and the rage was really his own. Umbridge rose from her seat and tapped her wand against her palm. Allen recognized it as a nervous gesture. Her fingers trembled with fear. _That's right, fear me._ Allen thought vindictively. _I could end your life right now but I won't I'll just let you stew in fear and paranoia till you kill yourself._ He added to himself. She must have known what he was thinking.

"I like Professor Kanda." The simpering tone was back but there was an uneven hitch there. "You understand don't you? I wanted to know that he wasn't evil." She added, pacing the floor.

"And do you still like him? Knowing that he's a murderer? A killer?" He asked just as sweetly. Dolores didn't turn to look at him.

"It's easy to like someone who is nice to you." She stated. The parasite exorcist quelled his fury with much difficulty.

"He'll be nicer still if you keep this a secret." Allen offered, curling his lips up and closing his eyes.

"I know." Umbridge said, gaining back a little of her confidence.

"That's why we never had this conversation." She whispered, leveling her wand at Allen's head. The General bared his teeth at her as her lips formed the words. He wasn't going to let this happen! With all his willpower, he rocked backwards, toppling the chair over.

His weight and momentum smashed it. The legs came apart and the back fell off as the Obliviate sailed over his head and dissipated against the wall. Allen straightened best as he could. Too slow, too hampered, he couldn't reach for his wand.

The Parasite exorcist grinned, black and ominous. This was part of the reason why he has forced Kanda to run instead. They could suppress his magic, they could force him to wear a bracelet and tell the truth but they could never ever take away his Innocence.

Invocate! Crown Belt was so useful in times like these, the teen reflected as he used it to break the wood still stuck to him. Like the wards they used in the Great hall, the charm weakened and disintegrated. He turned his gaze upon the trembling pink clad witch.

"I'm not going to obliviate you." He informed her softly, Crown belt wrapping around her throat and squeezing lightly.

"Or maim you or kill you." Allen told her. He really shouldn't be getting so much pleasure out of seeing her quiver in fear. "You chose to ask me all those questions. Now you will live with having to help us." He raised his right arm and presented her the bracelet.

"Deactivate it." He ordered. Umbridge recited a long string of words. The uncomfortable block on his magic disappeared immediately and he felt it fill his core again. It was a relief, much like the feeling of finally remembering something that you knew that you forgot.

Satisfied, he let go of her and deactivated his Innocence. He pulled out his wand and repaired his clothes quickly.

"What are you going to do me?" Umbridge spat at him. Allen walked to the door and paused.

"Pretend nothing happened. I'll still be the student under suspicion, you'll still be a High Inquisitor in Hogwarts." He turned to look at her out of his cursed eye. "The only difference, is that you'll tell me about each and every anomaly that has happened in recent years." He smiled that innocent charming smile of his, knowing that Umbridge now hated him in ways he would never bother to count.

With that, he stepped outside and headed straight for the counter.

---

Kanda would kill Carl the next time he saw the damned Finder. He knew as soon as he saw the slightly glazed look in Lupin's eyes that whatever that perfume he had used was meant to confuse and arouse desire in men.

It was just his luck that he happened to run into the werewolf and that the werewolf with a better sense of smell had been affected way more than the average wizard. It was a curse and blessing in disguise. It was curse because Kanda felt tremendously insulted that people thought he was a girl, and a blessing because any slip up he made would be over-looked as long as Remus remained infatuated with him.

The quiet man had taken him to an inn on the other side of Diagon Alley, far away from the Leaky Cauldron. The name was smudged so badly that Kanda wasn't sure what it was called. The woman behind the counter glared at Remus and smiled tightly at Kanda. The werewolf paid the required amount for the room and patted Kanda's arm.

"I'll come and pick you up in the morning. We'll go to the Ministry together and see what we can dig up alright?" the smile he gave the swordsman was happy and hopeful. Kanda felt a little guilty and taken aback. He hoped that the perfume didn't have any permanent effects. He did not want to deal with a lovesick werewolf when this was all over.

"I thank you very much." He replied politely as he detached himself from the werewolf's arm and headed up the steps.

---

"BaKanda." Allen announced to Kiyoko with great relish. The portrait looked very uncomfortable at his presence but let him in anyway. The white haired General stepped through the hole, casting all the privacy spells he knew the moment it closed behind him. He headed to Kanda's bedroom and looked around. Someone had obviously gone through his things but Kanda didn't have anything suspicious aside from the Lotus and his Golem. The Lotus was still in its glass case, sitting on the bedside table but the Golem was gone. No extra petals had fallen so he knew that Kanda hadn't received irreparable damage. Allen leaned out the window and looked around. As if sensing an exorcist, the black communication device came flitting over, its wings batting the air.

"Go find Kanda." Allen told it softly. It seemed to understand, turning around and setting off immediately. He withdrew himself from the window.

In the blink of an eye, so many things had happened. He had woken up, gone to Diagon Alley, gotten a new wand, been ambushed, helped Kanda escaped, been questioned, tricked then finally, intimidated a high ranking Official of the Ministry into keeping her mouth shut.

He looked around. He could still see his torn pants, draped over the chair while Kanda's stained shirt lay beneath it. The House elves hadn't come to clean up. It was no surprise. Kanda had ordered them not to turn up unless he commanded it.

The white General ran his hand over the rumpled white sheets. The two of them had slept here just last night. Kanda had fed him here. Kanda had kissed him willingly. The memory resurfaced and Allen touched his lips.

He hadn't had time to think about it until now. What did that mean? Was that a brotherly kiss of love? Something landed on Allen's shoulder and bit his ear. The General started then reached up to pat Timcampy between the wings.

"_If you're listening to this, then Timcampy received the transmission just fine."_ Kanda's voice crackled through, soft and strong but just a little hoarse. _"I'm with the Finders in London. I'll try to get more information on the streets. This will be the last time I contact you like this because it isn't safe. Till then, don't…. "_ There was a brief pause _"Don't do anything stupid Allen."_ There was a burst of static as the transmission ended. Timcampy nuzzled up to Allen's cheek as if asking what he was going to do.

"We're going to trick Harry tomorrow." He said softly to the Golem, scratching the device between the wings. Timcampy chuffed in approval and nipped Allen's fingers affectionately.

"We'll open the Chamber of Secrets and see if there is Innocence down there."

---

_End Chapter 13._

_For the lulz, go the dgmkinkmeme and guess which ones I did. "Three and then one" doesn't count. I've written quite a lot and I usually post them in one go instead up updating them periodically. Also, I feel very sorry for Remus but it's crucial that I get someone in the Order and who knows his way around to help Kanda._

_Update on life: I did very badly in my first mock even though I studied. I probably won't update for another month or two in order to do better._


End file.
